Richard Griffin’s Bullpen: Blue Jays draft class exposes flaws in new MLB rules

The Jays may have concocted and executed the draft model for other teams in the future, while at the same time exposing the flaws in the new rules under the current bargaining agreement.

The Jays had a budget of over $8 million for their 14 picks in the first 10 rounds. GM Alex Anthopoulos gave away rounds four through 10, selecting all grateful college seniors to fund the first three rounds and seven picks.

The strategy worked, as the Jays snapped up six of Baseball America’s Top 45 prospects, including right-hander Marcus Stroman, the closest to being major-league ready and outfielder Anthony Alford, the best athlete in the draft who the Jays are allowing to fulfill his commitment to quarterback at Southern Miss. But that is not the spirit of the draft. The Brewers, among many other teams, chose players that they believed fit the slot money that was attached to that pick.

The Jays, using their high-low strategy, signed 32 of their 44 draft picks overall, including all 14 in the first 10 rounds, but just 18 of the 30 between Rounds 11-40 that were slotted at a maximum of $100,000. The Jays were willing to go over their slot by 4.999-percent, in order to be penalized money by MLB that will be re-distributed to others, but not a future draft pick. They accomplished that.

The one player that they missed out on they would have loved to have signed was left-hander Ryan Kellogg, a 12th rounder from Whitby, Ont. Kellogg was a star on Canada’s Junior National Team that toured Florida in the spring. His personal highlight was facing Jose Bautista and popping him up to shortstop. Kellogg will attend Arizona St. University and be eligible again in the 2015 June draft.

If he remains healthy, Kellogg will likely be in the top half-dozen rounds of the draft next time. The Jays would have had to overwhelm Kellogg beyond the $100,000 offered. He had been expected to be drafted higher, but the club held firm to its offer. Many teams dealing with high school players included an education package above and beyond the bonus, so it’s not just about an education.

The Jays are thrilled with their draft and experts have rated them amongst the most successful organizations at interpreting and utilizing the new rules of slotting and penalties.

THE RANT: MR. OCTOBER SHOULD STICK TO HIS BEST CONVERSATION TOPIC, HIMSELF

Hall-of-Fame outfielder, Mr. October, Reggie Jackson shot off his mouth again last week and bit off far more than he can chew. In a far-ranging interview with Sports Illustrated, Jackson gratuitously ripped into some of his fellow Hall-of-Famers, saying that guys like Kirby Puckett, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, Jim Rice and the late Gary Carter were not really Hall-worthy.

The fact the Kid had just passed away and was laid to rest this spring makes the Jackson rant disgraceful. Reggie also questioned Bert Blyleven’s credentials, insisting that he wasn’t the best pitcher of his era, that Jack Morris was the dominant pitching force of the ’80s. Yes, Morris deserves to be in, but so does Blyleven who, by the way, dominated Reggie during his career. Oh yeah, the current Yankees’ senior adviser suggested that current Yankee Alex Rodriguez’ stats should be questioned since he has admitted some steroid involvement earlier in his career. Jackson has since been advised to stay away from the club by ownership, while still hanging on, for the time being, to his title.

Now Reggie is a charming, opinionated guy that can be an entertaining raconteur, as I have observed in lively, funny visits to manager’s offices with both Felipe Alou and Cito Gaston. But his best stories should remain about himself. This other stuff is beneath what Reggie should represent as one of the game’s best clutch hitters — at least in the post-season.

Besides, as an active American Leaguer, when would Reggie have seen Carter catch enough to form an opinion? Reggie insists that if the writers are going to vote in players that have been linked to steroids that there will be a general revolt among current members in terms of a willingness to attend the inductions. That is a legitimate observation, but Reggie, just shut your mouth when it comes to the deservedness of others to rub shoulders with you on stage in July at the Hall-of-Fame. Hey Reggie, in a fight, I would take Rice to pummel you. And he still might choose to do so. In any case, through the ball club, Jackson issued a half-hearted apology.

“In trying to convey my feelings about a few issues that I am passionate about, I made the mistake of naming some specific players,” Jackson said. “This was inappropriate and unfair to those players, some of which are very close friends of mine. I think there are ways to speak from the heart without hurting people, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t take greater care in expressing my views.”

MLB POWER RANKINGS

Last week’s rankings in parentheses

1. New York Yankees (1)

2. Texas Rangers (2)

3. Washington Nationals (3)

4. Chicago White Sox (5)

5. Los Angeles Angels (4)

6. Boston Red Sox (6)

7. Cincinnati Reds (12)

8. Pittsburgh Pirates (7)

9. San Francisco Giants (10)

10. Los Angeles Dodgers (9)

11. Atlanta Braves (14)

12. New York Mets (8)

13. Baltimore Orioles (11)

14. Tampa Bay Rays (13)

15. Oakland A’s (18)

16. Detroit Tigers (19)

17. St. Louis Cardinals (16)

18. Cleveland Indians (15)

19. Arizona Diamondbacks (17)

20. Toronto Blue Jays (20)

21. Miami Marlins (21)

22. Milwaukee Brewers (22)

23. Philadelphia Phillies (23)

24. Kansas City Royals (24)

25. Seattle Mariners (26)

26. San Diego Padres (27)

27. Minnesota Twins (25)

28. Chicago Cubs (29)

29. Colorado Rockies (28)

30. Houston Astros (30)

BLUE JAYS WEEK IN REVIEW (45-44, tied-4th AL East)

With the all-star break taking up the majority of the work week, the Jays came back on the weekend to take two of three from the contending Indians, wrapping up the season series against the Tribe with four wins out of six games. After losing 1-0 to Justin Masterson on Friday, the Jays came back to win 11-9 behind the big bats in the middle of the lineup and 3-0 behind Carlos Villanueva.

On Sunday, with closer Casey Janssen having pitched two straight games, manager John Farrell stayed with Darren Oliver following a six-pitch eighth inning, allowing him to work the ninth for his first save since last April 27 against the Jays for the Rangers.

The Jays enter the new week having to go 45-28 in the final 73 games in order to win 90 games, which is the minimum to contend for the second wild-card spot. They need help.

In the meantime, the Jays got good news and bad news on the injury front.

The good news was that right-hander Brandon Morrow threw a pain-free bullpen session on Saturday and was expected to try it again on Monday on the way to returning to the mound for at least one rehab start in the minors later in the month. Morrow injured his left oblique on June 11.

The bad news is that injured closer Sergio Santos tried again to throw a bullpen on Saturday, with the pain in his right shoulder forcing a painful Jays decision. Season-ending surgery.

“The recovery time was taking longer than normal, so that’s initially when we backed him down to address some strengthening issues, or take the approach of rehab and strengthening,” Farrell told reporters. “As he got back through his throwing program, flat ground and long toss — he felt good in that regard — but when he gets on the mound with that increased intensity, that’s where he feels the discomfort. So that’s where the surgery is the next step.”

The date of the surgery and the exact diagnosis of the shoulder pain with Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles had yet to be determined. Santos was obtained by the Jays for prospect Nestor Molina last December. A former shortstop, the 29-year-old Santos had been signed following the ’11 season by the White Sox to a reasonable multi-year contract — then traded. The Jays owe him the rest of this year, at $1 million, plus $6.5 million guaranteed for 2013-14 and $2.25 million in buyouts for the three option seasons 2015-17. The best case scenario is that he comes back next spring and he earns his salary.

The bad news kept on coming for the Jays. During the all-star break, the club announced that left-handed reliever Luis Perez, who began the season looking like an all-star, has suffered a torn UCL and would likely have to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Perez (elbow) joined a list of eight injured Jays pitchers that includes Santos (shoulder), Morrow (oblique), Jesse Litsch (shoulder), Dustin McGowan (shoulder), Kyle Drabek (elbow), Drew Hutchison (elbow) and Robert Coello (elbow). Hutchison was expected to pick up a baseball and begin a throwing program by the end of July with September the earliest return. McGowan’s progress has stalled again, while Litsch, Drabek, Perez and Santos are done for the year.

The Jays continue to struggle with the secondary arms in the bullpen. At the end of June they attempted to option Coello, who had not pitched well, however they were forced to change that assignment to a disablement when Coello reported pain in his arm. You are not allowed to option an injured player, meaning that Coello will earn his major-league salary and accumulate major-league days of service while he is disabled. It also likely means he will never wear a Jays uniform again.

Another secondary reliever, righty Jesse Chavez was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on the weekend. He entered Saturday’s game vs. the Indians with a seven-run lead to start the eighth. The Tribe went single-homer-walk-homer and Chavez packed his post-game bags. Chad Beck was recalled.

Farrell trusts Jason Frasor, Oliver, and Janssen. He has trouble any time he has to bring in Francisco Cordero, Drew Carpenter, Beck, Sam Dyson and Aaron Loup. The left-hander Loup was recalled to replace Perez. He had an impressive major-league debut on Saturday, retiring all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings with an 11-4 lead. It may be a different story at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park with a game on the line.

 

All-Star performance: The Jays’ lone all-star representative, Jose Bautista, had a busy week. He finished as runner-up to Prince Fielder in the Home Run Derby, hitting 20 homers in all. He played the first four innings of Tuesday’s All-Star Game, going 0-for-2, with a busy defensive day, chasing NL extra-base hits all over the field and making a diving, inning-ending catch to end an inning. On Wednesday, Bautista flew to Los Angeles for an appearance at The ESPYs award show and to promote his appearance in ESPN Magazine, the Body Issue.

Encarnacion signs: The Jays also announced the signing to an extension of Edwin Encarnacion. The 29-year-old Dominican agreed to a three-year extension, plus a club option for 2016. The salaries are $8 million for 2013, $9 million for 2014, $10 million for 2015, plus another $10 million club option, with a $2 million buyout.

The Jays now have eight players under contract though 2015 and beyond. Signed through 2017 is Sergio Santos; through 2016 are Bautista, Ricky Romero, Adam Lind and Encarnacion; through 2015 are Yunel Escobar, Morrow and McGowan.

AL ROUNDUP

Tigers ace Justin Verlander was pounded for five first-inning runs in the All-Star Game in Kansas City and he thinks he knows the reason why. He had never allowed five runs in any career start in K.C., but he was cranking it up over 100 m.p.h. in his 35-pitch frame, something he does not normally do in a regular start until he settles in after the early innings. “I know nobody wants to see me throw 90 m.p.h.,” Verlander said. “They like to see the 100 mph fastball. So, hey, I gave them that. It’s not like I was trying to give up runs; I went out there and gave everything I had. It’s just different than the way I normally pitch, which I feel really kind of messed me up.” With the importance of the all-star game in terms of the World Series, it’s not that Verlander was taking it lightly, but he did find something out about himself. He shut down the O’s for his 10th win on Sunday... Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine just won’t let anything fade away. With the White Sox set to visit on Monday, Valentine rekindled the Kevin Youkilis feud, blaming the popular Sox icon for not being willing to forget. Valentine just has an annoying, smug way of expressing himself. When asked to comment before Sunday’s game in Chicago, Youk refused to take the bait. His bat will do the talking in this series, which is something Red Sox management is likely not too happy about... The Red Sox are quickly returning to some semblance of themselves. Centrefielder Jacoby Ellsbury came back on the weekend and left fielder Carl Crawford is slated to return on Monday night... The Jays have had some interesting travel situations due to their Triple-A affiliate being in Las Vegas, but nothing like Angels’ rookie outfielder Cole Calhoun. The youngster was called up because of a nagging Torii Hunter knee problem. Calhoun played in the Triple-A all-star game in Buffalo. He flew Buffalo to Salt Lake City to Reno. Was recalled and flew Reno to Phoenix to Philadelphia to Newark, with a limo to Yankee Stadium. His luggage and equipment didn’t quite make the same trip, ending up in Detroit one city ahead of the Angels... The Yankees’ Robinson Cano talked about his choice of Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo for the AL Home Run Derby team. Apparently, at Angels Stadium, Cano went out on the field to ask Albert Pujols if he was interested in the Derby. “I see this big guy hitting balls into the rocks and I said ‘I have to have this guy on my team.’” The rest is history. Trumbo hit some of the longest shots in the Derby, but not enough of them... The Angels have had some keys to their resurgence, but none bigger than when they traded for closer Ernesto Frieri from the Padres. I remember the Jays were in Anaheim and they announced in the press box the Frieri deal and I just shrugged like, ‘So what.’ This streak is so what. Frieri went 26 1/3 shutout innings after joining the Angels, with the streak coming to an end on Saturday on a 3-run homer in New York by Mark Teixeira. The Angels hung on to win that game. “I’m a human, man,” Frieri said. “You can touch me if you want. I knew that was going to happen some time. I always kept saying to God, ‘When I give up a run, please don’t let it cost us a game’ and that’s what happened.”... The A’s resurgence into the wild-card and AL West mix has been credited to the dazzling array of young pitchers the A’s always seem to come up with. However, it should be noted that led by newcomers like centrefielder  Yoenis Cespedes the A’s have hit 92 homers, whereas last year at the same time they had just 47 round trippers. Cespedes had his first four-hit game on Sunday... The Rangers started the season like a 110-win team, but the offence has come back to earth. Josh Hamilton is 2-for-23 and has seen his average drop to .301. He has mentioned his busy all-star break schedule as a fatigue factor, but it can’t have been as rugged as Jose Bautista’s... It turns out the White Sox and GM Kenny Williams also need starting pitching and are looking at the same guys as GM Alex Anthopoulos and the Jays. By the way, Molina is 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA at two levels of the White Sox organization.

NL ROUNDUP

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is a master of deflection. With his team continuing to struggle, the controversial one has called Nats rookie Bryce Harper out. Guillen noticed that Harper’s bat may have been pine-tarred a little too high and complained to umpires during the kid’s first at-bat. Recall that after George Brett’s famous Yankee Stadium meltdown many years ago, the pine tar rule was clarified so that the only penalty is the bat is taken out of play. Nothing is reversed. In any case, the next time up, Harper looked over to Ozzie and waved his new lumber with a smile. That drove Guillen crazy and he ranted after the game. Hey Ozzie, “Just win, baby.”...The Braves have obviously decided that SS Tyler Pastornicky, a former Jays farmhand obtained in the SS Yunel Escobar trade is no longer their shortstop of the future. After injuries to SS Andrelton Simmons and veteran backup SS Jack Wilson, even with Pastornicky on the bench, manager  Fredi Gonzalez tried Martin Prado at short for the first time in his career then the next day traded with the Reds for minor league SS Paul Janish who will play every day. One has to wonder why the Reds would help the Braves in the midst of a pennant race. They obtained minor-league RH Todd Redmond... There hasn’t been a more “cheeky” ending to a MLB game this year than Friday night’s ninth-inning comeback win keyed by Everth Cabrera’s steal of home. Nursing a one-run lead with two out and runners on first and second, with two strikes on the hitter, the Dodgers’ closer Kenley Jansen walked off the back of the mound to clean his spikes and Cabrera took off for home on a straight steal attempt. A stunned Jansen turned and fired the ball off the screen allowing the trail runner, Will Venable, to score behind him. The Dodgers were then unable to score. Elias Sports says that the last time a tying or winning run scored on a steal of home in the 9th inning or later was August 22, 1982 by Glenn Brummer of the Cards against closer Gary Lavelle and the Giants. Uhh, in 2008, in Lockport, N.Y., as manager of the Oakville A’s, I had a 15-year-old kid, catcher Jason Deichert steal home in the final inning, two outs, to tie the game against a slow-delivering, flame-throwing lefthander. Sorry, Elias... The Cubs have some pretty good chips to deal at the deadline. Right-hander Ryan Dempster tossed six more shutout innings on Saturday to run his streak to 33 straight, while fellow righty Matt Garza twirled seven shutout innings on Sunday on the way to a sweep of the D-backs. Dempster’s is the longest scoreless streak by a Cub since Ken Holtzman in 1969. The Cubs record is 35 and 37 straight by Bill (not the Spaceman) Lee in 1938. Big Bill finished that season with a 22-9 record and a 2.66 ERA... The Phillies have good news with the return to the rotation of Roy Halladay on Tuesday... The Braves brought Ben Sheets back to the majors after two minor-league starts and two years off since his last MLB appearance July 20, 2010 for the A’s... The Jays were at one time first runner-up in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes. Granted, the Cuban fireballer is a bit of a social loose-cannon, with his off-the-field trouble and his on-field forward rolls, but he is a major talent. On Sunday he struck out the side for his 13th save, ending the game with a 102 m.p.h. fastball. In Chapman’s last 7 innings he has allowed 2 hits with 2 walks and 18 strikeouts. They swept the Cards.

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL HISTORY

7/16/09 Ed Summers of the Tigers tosses 18 shutout innings against the Washington Senators, with no decision in a 0-0 tie, the longest shutout in baseball history... 7/16/20 The Bambino, Babe Ruth, against the Browns, sets a single-season home run mark with his 30th homer of the year, breaking his own mark of 29. He would go on to hit 54 homers... 7/16/41 The Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio extends his hitting streak to 56 games, going 3-for-4 in a 10-3 victory over the Indians... 7/17/41 The streak comes to an end for Joe DiMaggio as Al Smith and Jim Bagby of the Indians hold him hitless... 7/17/90 The Twins turn two triple plays in the same game against the Red Sox, but lose 1-0... 7/18/27 The Georgia Peach, now playing for the A’s, Ty Cobb doubles against former teammate George Gibson of the Tigers giving him 4,000 career hits... 7/18/70 The Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays bounces a single to left field against Mike Wegener of the Expos for his 3,000th career hit... 7/19/10 The great Cy Young records his 500th career victory, 5-4 over the Washington Senators... 7/21/73 The Braves’ Hank Aaron smashes his 700th career home run in an 8-4 loss to Ken Brett and the Phillies... 7/21/75 The lead-footed infielder Joe Torre of the Mets grounds into four double plays in a game vs. the Astros.

Birthdays this week: Lee Elia 75, Torii Hunter 37, Razor Shines 56, Joe Torre 72, David Segui 46, Dick Scott 50, Bengie Molina 38, Tony Oliva 72, C.C. Sabathia 32, Mike Bordick 47, Moe Drabowsky 77, Dave Stieb 55, Scott Sanderson 56, Tim Johnson 63, Cliff Johnson 65, Sparky Lyle 68.

JAYS MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP

AAA-Las Vegas (52-42) lost 12-5 to Sacramento on Sunday. CF Anthony Gose was 2-for-3 with a triple and a homer. He is hitting .293. RF Moises Sierra is hitting .295 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs. 1B Yan Gomes was 2-for-4 with a homer and is hitting .339... AA-New Hampshire (37-57) beat Portland 5-1 on Sunday. 3B Mark Sobolewski was 3-for-4 and is hitting .264. SS Ryan Goins was 2-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs. He is hitting .339... A-Dunedin (10-14) lost 5-2 to Fort Myers on Sunday. 3B Kevin Ahrens was 2-for-3 and is batting .250. C Koby Clemens is batting .310 with an OPS of .886. RHP Asher Wojciechowski is 7-2, with a 3.57 ERA. RH Dan Barnes is 1-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 22 saves... A-Lansing (14-9) beat Cedar Rapids 6-2 on Sunday. Canadian RF Michael Crouse has come down from Dunedin and was 2-for-3 with three runs and a double. RH Anthony DeSclafani (7-3, 3.26 ERA) allowed two runs in six innings. RH Noah Syndergaard is 6-2, 2.93 ERA. RH Aaron Sanchez is 8-1 with a 1.41 ERA. LH Justin Nicolino is 4-2, 2.98 ERA. LF Kevin Pillar is batting .322 with 35 steals... A-Vancouver (17-12) beat Boise 5-4 on Sunday. LF Matt Newman was 2-for-4 with 2 homers. C Jorge Flores was 2-for-5 with 2 runs and a double. RHP Javier Avendano is 3-1, with a 2.08 ERA and 32 Ks in 26 IP... A-Bluefield (9-14) was rained out on Sunday. CF Dwight Smith, Jr. is batting .247 with 3 homers and 11 RBIs. LH Daniel Norris (1-1, 3.31 ERA) has fanned 20 batters in 16-1/3 innings. RH Roberto Osuna is 1-1, 1.13 ERA... Rk-Blue Jays (6-18) RH Francisco Gracesqui is 3-0, 0.00 ERA. Brock University’s 3B Shaun Valeriote is batting .238. First round June pick OF D.J. Davis is hitting .234 with 2 HR and 3 RBIs.

ONE FOR THE ROAD:

The All-Star Game is not as much of a three-day party as people might think, especially with the Home Run Derby finally settling in as a Monday evening event that ends at around 11 p.m. Eastern Time. Monday’s All-Star Gala used to be a closed session for the participating players and their families, club executives and their guests and the media. In those days, everyone used to go. The GMs actually came to the All-Star Game and had a chance to discuss trade with about three weeks left to the deadline. In any case, this year’s gala was held in a huge party tent between Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead, home of the Chiefs. The best stunt of the event was the bars made out of ice. Advice No. 1 is when leaving a tip for your bartender try not to leave coins, as they tend to freeze to the bar. Of course with temperatures at 33 C and the bar shrinking faster than the polar ice cap, the party’s last call called itself.

The best time I had was after the game itself. With an afternoon flight Wednesday, it was a chance to head over to the clubbing area of K.C.’s Country Club Plaza. Went to a club with live rock ‘n roll featuring a guy that sounded at times like Van Morrison and at others like Kurt Cobain. Had some Bar-B-Q pork, that, if not invented in K.C., was certainly perfected in this town. There was a big guy sitting in on drums wearing a Justin Verlander jersey, about 6-8, 260 lbs. He was introduced as Aiden Smith, a backup linebacker for the San Diego Chargers in town for the all-star game. Sounded fishy and I would have to push the BS buzzer on that one, but it worked out for him, anyway as he was swarmed by the local women buying him drinks and chatting him up following the set. Bottom line is he wasn’t a bad drummer. When the live music was done, I headed down the street for an upstairs patio on a beautiful Midwest evening overlooking the street, with a cold Heineken and a hot DJ. Life is good.

Richard Griffin’s Bullpen: Blue Jays prospect Anthony Gose shines at Futures Game

KANSAS CITY—If the Futures Game is a springboard to the major leagues then Blue Jays prospect Anthony Gose’s future is indeed bright.

In the third inning of Sunday's Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium, when the baseball jumped off the bat of 20-year-old Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras, it clearly had extra bases written all over it. There were runners on first and third with nobody out for the World Team when the pitch was crushed. Gose broke quickly, raced back, left his feet and dove head-long in his finest Jim Edmonds imitation, snaring the ball in the end of his glove and sliding to a halt.

Impressive.

But the play was not over.

Gose popped to his feet and, flat-footed, threw a one-hop strike to first baseman Jonathan Singleton, barely missing doubling off Rangers’ prospect Jurickson Profar, who also had assumed it was going to be a hit. The U.S. team managed by George Brett went on to crush the World and its manager Bernie Williams 17-5, so the great defensive play early in the game was sort of lost in translation. But for those paying attention, it may have turned the tide for Team USA.

“It felt good to go out there and make a play like that and hopefully I can see it on TV tonight,” a smiling Gose said. “I'm hoping for my family and friends and everybody, so it was exciting. From the moment that they informed me I made the team through the whole game, it was exciting. A lot of talent on the field at one time. The group of guys that was here was pretty impressive.”

Even before Sunday’s game, the Jays knew that what they had in Gose was already pretty impressive. They had pinpointed him as a trade target as far back as the negotiations with the Phillies for Roy Halladay in December of ’09. But instead, they settled for Michael Taylor who they immediately rolled over to the A's for Brett Wallace. Oh well.

But when Gose was later included in a deal to the Astros for Roy Oswalt in 2010, Alex Anthopoulos leapt to the bat phone with Astros GM Ed Wade, moving Wallace to Houston for Gose. It is now paying off.

Success in the Futures Game many times translates into a trip to the major leagues often by the end of the next calendar year. The rapid rise happened for right-hander Henderson Alvarez a year ago. In addition to the great catch, Gose bounced a single through the right side, advanced to second when the throw missed the cutoff man and scored in the third inning. It was a great day for the 21-year-old.

 “Everybody here belongs around everybody, it's not just one person,” Gose said with a huge smile as he packed his baseball stuff for the trip back to Vegas. “The organization wouldn't have sent you if they didn't believe in you, think highly of you. So everybody here is sent for the same reason and everybody's a big piece of their organization.”

But what do the Jays do with Gose? The talented outfielder has risen steadily through the system, from A-Dunedin, to AA-New Hampshire, now to Triple-A Las Vegas, but the next step is his final step. The pleasant Jays' dilemma is that some time between spring training and right now, Colby Rasmus stepped up and took a stranglehold on centre field, putting up numbers, making plays, smiling and styling through the last two months like he, himself, belonged in Kansas City with the MLB all-stars. Gose has noticed and is in awe.

“What he's doing is unbelievable,” an admiring Gose said. “He's hitting .330 in the last two months, with 16 home runs. How can I not notice? It's unbelievable. The team up there is doing great. They've had some unfortunate injuries. Some pitchers and a couple of guys, so, other than that they're playing great. Just some unfortunate things have come their way.”

The great thing about baseball spring training is the opportunity it allows for players competing for the same position to get to know one another. They can stand around in the outfield together, they perform their fundamentals together, they hit in the same groups at batting practice and they locker next to one another for seven weeks. Baseball friendships last a long time and seem to cross all differences in background, personality and age. It's one of the nice things about baseball clubhouses.

“Colby, I told him he's probably one of the best defensive centrefielders in baseball,” Gose recalled a spring training conversation. “What he's doing is special and it's something that he's done early in his career.  He's doing it again now.”

In fact, the Jays have clearly been looking for a solution to their centre field glut, which led them one day this month to post a 51s starting lineup with Gose in left field. Try not to be so subtle, guys.

“It's hard to sit here and say I didn't think about it,” Gose laughed. “I've always played centre field my whole career. So coming up here it was always centre field, centre field, centre field. They told me to play left. Naturally thoughts crept into my head but, like I said, everybody up there's doing their job and they're playing well. Rajai (Davis) is a real big catalyst for the team. Colby at the top of the lineup, Raj at the bottom, and those guys. What they've got up there right now is really special and it's really doing well. They're performing. So, I'm back in centre and I'm playing and hopefully sometime I get an opportunity, whether it's this year, next year or down the road.”

Gose is batting .290 in his first season in the Pacific Coast League, with four homers, 38 RBIs, 75 runs scored and 29 stolen bases. When the 6-1, 190 lbs., speedster arrived in the organization, it was believed he needed about 1,500 more minor league at-bats, from the start of 2010, in order to matriculate to the majors. He now has 1,382 in that time frame. That time is coming.

But he's not there. Every year, the learning curve continues. In 2011 at New Hampshire, they did not allow him to bunt, made him swing the bat, looking for more power. It was a teaching tool.

 “Last year was finding the swing,” Gose explained. “I mean (batting coach) Justin Ashore did an incredible job with me getting me ready, getting me started on the path and finding the swing. Last year they just let me swing freely. It felt great. I was just hacking away. Then this year with (Chad) Mottola (in Vegas) just kind of fine tuning it and fixing the little things. I feel I've been able to be consistent and good things have happened for this year.”

At Triple-A, the organization has allowed Gose to add the bunt back into his repertoire of offensive weapons and he feels it has paid dividends, completing him as a top-of-the-order guy.

 “I'm bunting again,” Gose said. “I don't know how many hits I have on bunts, but I've been bunting a lot more, sacrificing a lot more. I think last year I only bunted five times the whole season. I think two of them were for hits, the others were for sacrifices. This year I've used it quite a bit and it's really helped me. It keeps me afloat when I'm not doing too well. It keeps me going, get a hit here and there and keep things rolling, getting on base.

“I'm hoping that's what my game will translate to, being the all-around guy, being able to help the team at whatever it is. To be able to hit the ball out of the park, hit the ball in the gaps, just been the all-around guy offensively. That's what everybody wants to be, the five-tool guy, per se, and help the team at any point, with anything that you can do.”

Gose found himself in the unaccustomed position of batting ninth in the Team USA order at the Futures Game. Why? Because the leadoff man was Reds' uber-prospect, SS Billy Hamilton, a man that already has 100 steals at A-Bakersfield. That total makes Gose look like lumbering Thomas on the base paths. Gose accepted and understood batting ninth. He spoke to Hamilton with admiration.

 “I asked him how do you do it? He said 'I just run' and I understand because that's what I would tell people when they asked me how I did it, I just run,” Gose said.

Which was essentially one of the problems when Gose arrived with the Jays' organization. He just ran. In 2010, combined at two Florida State League stops, Gose stole 45 bases but he was caught 32 times. That is an unacceptable ratio and the Jays have preached stealing in the right situations on the right counts. He has been listening and it's all been part of the process.

 “There's obviously situations, I've learned that as I've come along,” Gose said. “My first year I had a lot of success and I just ran. The next year I tried to just run and I had a terrible success rate. Last year was putting it together and thinking, being smart.

 “I had (manager) Sal Fasano, a great major-league catcher, who could nit-pick things, find things between the pitcher and catcher to help me out a lot. Mashore, with some of the drills we did, and this year it's the same thing. Find the right time, pick your moments, be smart about it. But I completely understand what (Hamilton) says, 'I just run,' because he's just running.”

For his part, Gose is on a run that will see him in the major leagues as early as Sept. 1. He must be added to the 40-man roster in any case at the end of the year, so why not bring him up for the final month, have him soak up the major-league atmosphere, maybe pinch run a little and the Jays can ponder their dilemma of what to do with all of these outfielders. It's a nice problem to have.

One solution might even be to think about moving Jose Bautista to first base, a position he has showed he can handle. He would need to agree and even with re-signing Edwin Encarnacion, he could be the DH again. There's plenty of time to work that out, but in the meantime, Gose is working hard to force himself into the equation. The future for the Jays’ young outfielder is very soon. 

THE RANT: TOO MANY UMPIRES SPIKE BACK

The Brewers have made it clear. They are interested in trading former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke by the trade deadline if the price is right. As such, the Minute Maid Park home plate scout seats were bristling with radar guns on Saturday for Greinke's last outing before the break.

But just four pitches in, Greinke raced over to cover first base, took a feed from first baseman Corey Hart and was a hair late as the Astros’ Jose Altuve beat him to the bag for an infield hit. The first batter, Jordan Schafer had tripled and he scored from third. No big deal, right? Wrong!

As Greinke ran past the umpire with the ball, making that great circle route back to the mound, he slowed down, got mad and spiked the ball in the infield dirt, having it bounce out towards second base. Greinke is a different cat anyway. He's not wired the same as most pitchers, most players, so it may have seemed a little unusual, but not malicious and not in the direction of the umpire as some Canadian third basemen from Langley, B.C., have been wont to do with other items of equipment.

In any case, first-base arbiter Sam Holbrook, who likely believes fans come to see him make his calls, immediately tossed Greinke from the game. Then he tossed manager Ron Roenicke. That's a clown move, bro'.

When a player strikes out, or when a player is called out on a close play at first base, you often see a helmet bounce or batting gloves, etc. The normal penalty, at the discretion of the umpire is a small fine and a written report to the central office in New York. That's enough.

That's fair, but Holbrook made the moment all about him. It's just another example of an umpire wrecking a good thing. It's happened all too often this season and needs to stop. Is there anything baseball can do except review a play like that and suspend Holbrook. But they likely won't.

So, because Greinke's being heavily scouted and because he's not playing in Kansas City, the right-hander volunteered to start Sunday's game in Houston, maybe for scouts. Guess who was working the plate? Correct, Sam Holbrook.

Now the umpire's not the reason Greinke was not very good on Sunday, lasting just three innings, but his presence didn't help and the fact that Greinke was forced so far out of his routine that any other result than three innings and out, would have been a shock.

Looking ahead, Greinke is also scheduled to start on Friday coming out of the break. That will be three straight games for his team, something that has not been done in MLB since Urban “Red” Faber of the White Sox did it in 1917. Faber started both ends of a twin bill in Chicago, then took a train overnight with his teammates to St. Louis and tossed a 16-hit complete game against the Browns.              

Baseball has the capability and responsibility to right wrongs. Someone should compile a video of all the umpire-player, umpire-manager confrontations, analyze them and do something about it. There's always been conflict with umpires, going back to forever, but this year has been ridiculous.

MLB POWER RANKINGS

Last week’s ranking in parentheses

1. New York Yankees (2)

While Derek Jeter’s average drops, Robinson Cano’s production rises towards MVP 

2. Texas Rangers (1)

Yu Darvish signing looking pretty good as rest of rotation gets healthy

3. Washington Nationals (4)

Bryce Harper late pick for ASG said “Surprised ... try to remain mellow, calm.”

4. Los Angeles Angels (5)

Dan Haren injury seems short-term but hampers their charge to top

5. Chicago White Sox (10)

Sox bullpen loaded with rookies and that’s a tough call in Aug.-Sept.

6. Boston Red Sox (7)

Sox lost Dustin Pedroia but get unexpected energy from Pedro Ciriaco 

7. Pittsburgh Pirates (12)

If GM Neal Huntington truly believes, he will be big time deadline “buyer”   

8. New York Mets (8)

Hard to believe that David Wright won't be starting at third base at the all-star game

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (13)

Lost SS Dee Gordon to thumb injury then started scoring runs again

10. San Francisco Giants (3)

Made their rush to top of division and have settled down. Melky's the one

11. Baltimore Orioles (11)

Right now, O's, Bucs and Nats sitting in playoff position

12. Cincinnati Reds (6)

Manager Dusty Baker still taking shots at Tony La Russa for all-star snubs.

13. Tampa Bay Rays (9)

David Price quietly making his case for Cy Young

14. Atlanta Braves (14)

Chipper Jones gets late all-star call at the only park he has not played in.

15. Cleveland Indians (15)

Hanging around in the hunt for AL Central. Have a puncher's chance

16. St. Louis Cardinals (17)

Yadier Molina leaves on bereavement leave and misses all-star show

17-Arizona Diamondbacks (16)

D-backs will need another miracle second half to repeat playoffs

18. Oakland A's (20)

Starting staff is young and talented and Josh Reddick is a steal

19. Detroit Tigers (19)

Need to find a contributing second baseman and one outfielder 

20. Toronto Blue Jays (18)

Alex Anthopoulos still likely to look for help rather than throw a man overboard

21. Miami Marlins (21)

Fish prez David Samson upset Giancarlo Stanton not replaced by teammate. Zero Marlins

22. Milwaukee Brewers (23)

Zack Greinke will be first since Red Faber in 1917 to start 3 straight team games

23. Philadelphia Phillies (22)

Ryan Howard is back with Chase Utley, but too little too late? 

24. Kansas City Royals (24)

Biggest game at home in years and 24 of 25 Royals have to pay to get in

25. Minnesota Twins (26)

If any team can be pegged for a good second half, usually the Twins

26. Seattle Mariners (25)

M's futile hitting recently is AL equivalent of NL Dodgers

27. San Diego Padres (27)

They have Carlos Quentin and Chase Headley as chips at the deadline

28. Colorado Rockies (28)

Pitching coach Bob Apodaca calls it quits during mile-low year on mound

29. Chicago Cubs (30)

Finally made a move up through the rankings from last to second-last

30. Houston Astros (29)

Rid of world's biggest first baseman (Carlos Lee) and led by smallest second sacker (Altuve) 

JAYS WEEK IN REVIEW (43-43; tied-4th AL East)

The Jays had a pedestrian week, going 3-4, entering the all-star break at .500, with a 43-43 record.

The bad news was there is no predictable return date to the rotation for Brandon Morrow. The good news is that the struggling ace Ricky Romero posted a quality start against the first-place White Sox on Saturday. The fact that he lost is secondary to the fact that he pitched well.  

Manager John Farrell said Morrow was throwing pain-free of the left oblique strain that had forced him out of the game on June 11, but that he occasionally felt it, even on a sneeze. That can't be considered him being on the verge of a return.

The Jays opened the week splitting a four-game set against the Royals at the Rogers Centre. However they lost the series finale on Thursday, 9-6 with a chance to win the series three games to one, then flew to Chicago and lost the first two at U.S. Cellular, to drop a game below .500. On Sunday they jumped on rookie Dylan Axelrod early in the series finale then hung on to win 11-9 with Casey Janssen efficiently picking up his 12th straight save without a glitch.

Left-hander Brett Cecil was given a 4-0 lead in the first inning on a pair of two-run homers by Colby Rasmus and Edwin Encarnacion, then had his disturbing issues with shutdown innings continue, giving three of those back immediately on an opening-inning three-run blast by former Jay Alex Rios. 

Cecil continues to be paired with catcher Jeff Mathis, who homered in the game, his fifth of the season, coming in the fourth off rookie Brian Omogrosso. That total ties his most since hitting five in 2009 and is four shy of his career best of the nine that he hit with the Angels in 283 at-bats in '08.

At the end of the week, even with all of the campaigning by Jose Bautista for a very deserving Encarnacion to be included on the AL all-star roster, it turned out that Joey Bats is the lone Jays representative in Kansas City. In terms of “sizzle” for the mid-summer classic, having Harper replace Stanton is a solid choice.

It seems after a third solid outing by left-hander Aaron Laffey that he will remain in the mix for the short term. One thing is certain, he did not lose his job to 49-year-old Jamie Moyer, who was quietly released from Triple-A Las Vegas a couple of days after his second start, which had been the length of his agreed to tryout with the Jays. If Laffey had spit the bit, maybe Moyer would have been given a shot, but the journeyman lefty, Laffey, continues to give Farrell innings every time out.

Moyer was told that the Jays would not recall him in the short time left before the all-star break. They offered to let him continue pitching for the 51s, but that number was becoming too close to his actual age, so he declined and is likely to retire — clearly not by choice. The Jays and Moyer sort of knew it was coming, the end was near. The Triple-A team flies commercial and when they travelled to Reno and Moyer was set to pitch in that other Nevada gambling town, it was reported he did not have a return flight to Vegas booked with the rest of the team, even before he had started. Toronto or bust!

It was like he was playing black jack and hitting on 17. The odds were never good.

Besides, Canadian right-hander Shawn Hill has even become a more solid choice at Vegas with a chance to contribute if the Jays were to need yet another fifth starter in the majors.

The other guy already on the staff that is a solid pro and one of the leaders of the young Latin pitchers, is Carlos Villanueva. I wrote a column on his leadership during the week and the 28-year-old right-hander is backing it up with some solid starts, from a better prepared position than a year ago.

The Jays continued to hang in this week, but realistically have to be considered more out than in, trailing the second wild-card by 2 1/2 games at the break, but needing to crawl over a passel of other contenders in what is looking like a solid Bud Selig initiative to maintain interest in extra markets throughout the summer. There are 10 teams within 2 1/2 games of a playoff spot.

 Injuries: A new addition to the lineup of the limping is Brett Lawrie. The exciting sophomore leadoff man felt some discomfort in his back during the game on Saturday and left the game, probably a veteran move. He had done the same thing in Milwaukee with a wonky knee after a slide on the wrong hip, but bounced back strong in Miami.

The Langley Flash sat out the finale in Chicago on Sunday, meaning he will have almost six full days off before returning to the lineup on Friday vs. the Indians. That is only good news if he takes care of it during the break when he will be away from the trainers, away from the clubhouse, on his own.         

AL ROUNDUP

 The funniest video clip of the week came late on Sunday, from Rangers Park in Arlington. The Twins were batting when a huge clap of thunder shook the high home plate camera and quickly cleared the field. It could have been a disaster but turned to high comedy as macho ballplayers melted down into God-fearing puddles of goo. Twins outfielder Denard Span tweeted that it sounded like “Jesus was coming.” Denard, would that be Alou or Figueroa? In any case, the reaction of former Expos outfielder and current Twins 1B coach Jerry White was priceless. White's arms spread wide and he quickly crouched down, creeping over to first base  umpire Jeff Kellogg, perhaps trying to use him as a human lightning rod. Hilarious. The Rangers are going to be tough to beat in the second half. They have several underachievers in their current lineup, led by all-star catcher Mike Napoli, but the rotation is back in full voice coming out of the break: Derek Holland, Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, Roy Oswalt and Colby Lewis... As for Napoli and his selection in a transparent Rangers fan assault on stuffing the ballot box and the Internet that victimized White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, the ever-outspoken Pierzynski had some interesting things to say about his fine offensive season being overlooked by AL manager Ron Washington. “He had an opportunity to and he didn't do it,” Pierzynski said of Washington's half-hearted apology. “Obviously, he can feel as bad as he wants, but he didn't feel that bad.” Now, normally I'm not a big Pierzynski fan, but the way he then went out and handled this situation was great. Playing at The Cell on July 4, in the second inning, Alexi Ramirez singled to right. Pierzynski rumbled around third base and rolled over Napoli in a home plate collision to score. That's my style of baseball... Speaking of the White Sox, six of seven pitchers in their bullpen are rookies, with the only veteran being lefty Matt Thornton. That might explain GM Kenny Williams' recent claim from the Pirates of 26-year-old reliever left-hander Danny Moskos off the waiver wire. Hmm. What other team needs pitchers as much as the Chisox? Because of injuries you could easily make an argument for the Blue Jays and if they had also claimed Moskos during the waiver period, because of being lower in the current standings, the Jays would have ended up with him. So why not? He's an arm with a pedigree. Moskos is a former fourth overall pick by the Bucs in June '07 out of Clemson University. Ah, maybe that's why. Clemson is a notorious killer of long pitching careers under head coaches Bill Wilhelm ('57 to '93) and Jack Leggett ('94-now). Think Brian Barnes, Billy Koch, Kris Benson, Matt White and others. The institution of learning wins a lot of games, but does not produce what should be the corresponding number of quality MLB pitchers. Maybe the Jays think that same way, otherwise an underachieving former first-rounder is right up their alley... The A's have surprised the world winning 22 of 34 games to get back to .500. The A's staff has an AL leading 3.38 ERA and beat the M's in extra innings on Sunday. There may be a reason, one of the strangest ever, for the low-scoring on Sunday — other than two pathetic offences. “It was a little rough with the white baseball and the white seagulls and the sun. At the end of the day, we fought through the seagulls and we won,” A's second baseman Jemile Weeks said of the bad hitting background at the Coliseum. Where's Dave Winfield when you need him? Oh yeah, last time I saw him, Winfield was popping up to pitcher Rollie Fingers on Sunday afternoon in a slow-pitch celebrity softball game at Kauffman Stadium. Yikes.

NL ROUNDUP

The Marlins may, in hindsight, have made a supremely bad decision when they agreed to be the focus of the sports reality show The Franchise for an up-close-and-personal TV series. Manager Ozzie Guillen may soon feel like a changing his view of reality, by heading over to Cuba to look for a part in another proposed reality show Keeping up with the Castros. How bad is it? On Sunday, closer Heath Bell blew his sixth save and is in danger of being replaced. Ozzie's star third baseman Hanley Ramirez made an out and punched a dugout cooler, tearing up his knuckles for two stitches and coming out of the game. “I don't pay attention to stupidity. That made me mad,” Guillen said of his volatile star. Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton had arthroscopic knee surgery and is out six weeks just as first baseman Carlos Lee arrived. And prez David Samson is complaining that there are no Marlin all-stars without Stanton and that outfielder Justin Ruggiano should have been invited. David, you've got to be kidding... How anxious are the Cubs to showcase right-hander Ryan Dempster to interested teams? On Sunday, in the final game before the all-star break, the Cubs activated the classy Canuck and saw him toss five shutout innings against the Mets after being on the DL with tightness in his lat since June 18. Unless he is traded during the break, Dempster will start again on Friday vs. the D-backs. He is now 4-3, with a 1.99 ERA and is a free agent at the end of the season. He would look good in Jays blue... I'm not a big fan of the Braves’ Chipper Jones but you have to feel happy for him going to the all-star game in his final season. Coincidentally, Kauffman Stadium was the only current park of the 30 in which Jones had never played. Jones has played in 44 different ballparks, 15 of which are no longer in use. That still comes up short of Jamie Moyer and his 50 ball parks that he has twirled in... So how much has the Pirates operation been affected by the recent success? They are in first place at the break for the first time since Barry Bonds weighed 190 lbs. They have sold out the beautiful PNC Park nine times. GM Neal Huntington is looking to add a starting pitcher (competition for the Jays) and a corner outfielder (hmm? Rajai Davis, a former Pirate? Travis Snider? Eric Thames?). And A.J. Burnett is the fifth Pirates pitcher in 75 years to have at least 10 wins before the all-star break... You may have to pull a sheet over the Braves' playoff hopes if they are forced to use righty Ben Sheets in their second-half rotation. The 33-year-old former first rounder in '99 has missed the '09 and '11 seasons and is working his way back at Double-A for the pitching strapped Braves. The team may have lost sensational rookie SS Andrelton Simmons with a fractured left pinkie on Sunday. He hurt it on a headfirst slide into the foot of the Phils’ Chase Utley. The Futures Game featured just one Canadian this year, right-hander Kyle Lotzkar from Delta B.C. The 22-year-old was signed to the Reds by former Jays' Canadian scouting director Bill Bychowski, in the first round, supplemental in 2007. Lotzkar worked an inning on Sunday and was thrilled to be at AA-Pensacola just one step away from the majors. Lotzkar had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2009 season, but at the same time had a 3-1/2 inch screw implanted in another part of his injured elbow. He understands that he needs to work out differently to protect his new body parts, but when he's on the mound he claims he never thinks about it.  

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL HISTORY

7/9/46 Ted Williams dominates in the AL's 12-0 all-star win at Fenway Park. The Splendid Splinter bangs out four hits, including two homers and four RBIs... 7/9/68 an impressive string of four future Hall-of-Famers lead the way in a 1-0 NL victory -- Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver... 7/9/76 Larry Dierker of the Astros no-hits the Expos at the Astrodome. The pathetic Expos went on to win 52 games in the year of the Olympics in Montreal... 7/9/91 Cal Ripken Jr. slams a three-run homer off the Expos' Dennis Martinez at the SkyDome giving him All-Star MVP... 7/10/32 So you think some of today's franchises are cheap? Hall-of-Fame manager Connie Mack decides to save money for a one-game makeup in Cleveland by taking just TWO pitchers on the trip from Chicago to Cleveland in order to save train fare. The best laid plans, etc. The A's starter, Lew Krausse, managed to go just one inning, handing the ball to an unfortunate guy named Eddie Rommel. The game went 18 innings and Mack had no other pitchers. Rommel's line: 17 IP; 29H; 14R; 13ER; 9BB; 7K. He faced 87 batters and did not pitch again for another 41 days... 7/10/34 LHP Carl Hubbell fanned five Hall-of-Famers in a row, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin... 7/11/14 Babe Ruth makes his major-league debut with the Red Sox, beating the Indians 4-3 as a starting pitcher... 7/11/61 Relief pitcher Stu Miller is famously and literally blown off the mound at Candlestick Park in mid delivery, committing a balk for a 3-3 all-star tie that went to extra innings before the NL won... 7/11/49 Maybe it had something to do with the All-Star Game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, but Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe became the first African-Americans to play in the All-Star Game... 7/13/82 The All-Star Game is played outside of the U.S. for the first time. At Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Dave Concepcion homers off starter Dennis Eckersley for a 4-1 win. Five Expos were in the starting lineup... 7/14/67 Braves Eddie Mathews hits his 500th career homer against Juan Marichal of the Giants... 7/14/68 a year to the day later, Braves Hank Aaron hits 500th career homer vs. Mike McCormick of Giants... 7/14/70 Pete Rose in one of the most replayed all-star moments in history runs over catcher Ray Fosse of the Indians for the winning run in the 12th inning. That play cemented baseball's all-star game as different in intensity than other sports and served to send Fosse to a premature end to his career.

Birthdays this week: Andre Dawson 58, Bob Bailor 61, Joey McLaughlin 56, Ron Fairly 74, Bill Caudill 56, Pepe Frias 64, Donn Clendenon 77. 

JAYS MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP

AAA-Las Vegas (50-40) had no game on Sunday. LF Travis Snider is hitting .317 with nine homers, 46 RBIs and a .959 OPS. DH Eric Thames is hitting .323 with two homers and 19 RBIs. SS Adeiny Hechavarria is leading the team with 58 RBIs. Canadian RHP Shawn Hill is part of a horribly mediocre rotation supported by a pretty good offence. Hechavarria and reliever Chad Beck were named to the PCL all-star game... AA-New Hampshire (36-52) split a twin bill with New Britain, losing 4-0 and winning 5-4. 3B Mark Sobolewski, 1B Mike McDade, SS Ryan Goins, RHP Sam Dyson and RHP Yohan Pino (4-3, 3.34 ERA) were named to the Eastern League all-star game. CF Jake Marisnick was promoted from Dunedin. OF Kevin Bailli is hitting .370 with a homer and 5 SB. The top two starters, RHP Deck McGuire (4-9, 6.01 ERA) and Chad Jenkins (4-7, 5.20 ERA) have started 33 of the Fisher Cats 88 games... A-Dunedin (7-11) beat Tampa 4-2 on Sunday. SS Kevin Nolan has 5 HR, 39 RBIs, with 12 steals. RHP John Stilson is 3-0, 2.82 ERA. LHP Sean Nolin is 7-0, 2.35 ERA. RHP Asher Wojciechowski is 6-2, with a 3.87 ERA... A-Lansing (10-7) beat West Michigan 5-3 on Sunday. RH Noah Syndergaard allowed one run in 6 innings and is 6-2 with a 3.06 ERA. LF Kenny Wilson was 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs and 28 SB. RF Chris Hawkins was 4-for-4 and is batting .289. RH Aaron Sanchez is 8-0 with a 0.63 ERA. He has struck out 70 batters in 62 2/3 innings. LF Kevin Pillar is batting .319 with 34 steals... A-Vancouver (14-9) lost 10-6 to first place Everett on Sunday. 3B Balbino Fuenmayor is hitting .316 with three homers and 20 RBIs. RHP Javier Avendano is 3-0, with a 0.45 ERA and 25 Ks in 20 IP. RHP Ian Kadish is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA and 20 Ks in 11 IP... A-Bluefield (7-12) lost to Burlington 6-5 on Sunday. C Santiago Nessy hit his third HR and is batting .308. 2B Christian Lopes was 3-for-4 with his 3rd HR. LH Daniel Norris (1-1, 3.52 ERA) has fanned 18 batters in 15 1/3 innings... Rk-Blue Jays (6-12) RH Francisco Gracesqui (3-0, 0.00 ERA) has struck out 17 in 13 innings.  

ONE FOR THE ROAD

Flew out to the all-star festivities from Pearson on Sunday morning. Why is it that every airport landing in the American Midwest that I've been involved in since 1977, charter or commercial, has seemed like it is the rock-and-roll equivalent of touching down through a combination tornado, hurricane, cyclone and tsunami, with airplane wings flapping — unintentionally, of course — and uneasy flyers squeezing the armrests and whimpering like babies. Get a grip.

Such was the case with the Kansas City landing. And, also, I wonder whose idea it was to build the Royals' home Kauffman Stadium nowhere near actual Kansas City, out in the middle of the Show Me State. Someone should have showed them. Take a cab, go along back roads, up along some river and through the woods. Suddenly, around a bend you are surprised by the looming sight of Arrowhead Stadium with Kauffman Stadium over on the left. They are beautiful, but why way out here?

Blue Jays mailbag: Colby Rasmus changing perceptions on and off the field

I am usually a huge admirer of Rays manager Joe Maddon, but his reaction to Nationals' manager Davey Johnson's obvious gamesmanship in calling out Rays reliever Joel Peralta on his pine-tarred glove is baffling to me. If I was Johnson, armed with the knowledge that Peralta, a former Nationals reliever, always pitched with pine tar on his glove, I would have done the same thing. It's all about winning. Even Charlie Sheen can tell you that.

The rulebook states that a pitcher may not “apply a foreign substance to the ball, or have a foreign substance in his possession.” Pine tar is clearly such a substance. The rule was broken. Umpire Tim Tschida had no choice but to eject the Rays' middle reliever. Maddon lost it on Johnson after the game. Johnson responded by telling Maddon to “read the rulebook” and calling him a “weird wuss” and “the guru over there.”

Great stuff in a sport that needs more characters willing to show some emotion.

However, the result, an eight-game suspension for Peralta, is something I'm sure Johnson was not angling for. That's a little excessive from baseball and Peralta is appealing to have the penalty reduced. The lesson, one guesses, is that bouncing a helmet one-hop off an umpire like Brett Lawrie did with Bill Miller, is only half as offensive in games missed as a little pine tar on the glove. That's dumb.

The strange thing is that Peralta was not necessarily cheating. He apparently sweats a lot on the mound and when his hand gets slick, he touches the tar with his fingertips and gets a better grip on the ball (or that's the story he's sticking to).

In a way it makes it safer for hitters that might be injured if a slick ball gets away from a pitcher. Recall left-hander Kenny Rogers in the '06 World Series and the extremely black brim of his pine-tar slathered hat that was zeroed in on by Fox TV cameras and the subject of mush discussion in the booth.

Rules change and maybe this one needs to. Up until two years ago, a pitcher on the dirt of the mound could not touch fingers to mouth or a ball would be called. Now he can do that as long as he makes a wiping move to his uniform. It's all about pace of the game.

Maddon is a smart guy. Maybe he was just deflecting attention away from his pitcher and his team, relieving some pressure on his reliever by going on the offensive against Johnson.

Maddon blustered this is one of those things where you have to “read between the lines” of the rulebook and allow the players to regulate themselves. The next time out, with his suspension under appeal, Peralta pitched again against the Nats, but this time using Jeremy Hellickson's glove. What? Pine tar can't be applied to that? In any case, Maddon said he was going to check every Nats reliever that came in, but umpires put the kibosh on that idea.

I like the whole brouhaha. Two really good managers playing mind games.

The fact is that Johnson was right. It wasn't about the glove. If you can throw an opponent off his game, all's fair. I remember managing against Whitby in a minor bantam tournament. A Whitby player was not seriously nicked and the manager came on the field to check on his kid. As he trotted off back to the third base dugout, he turned his head and said to his pitcher, “You okay?” I raced onto the field and made the umpire count that as a mound visit. Was I being unfair? Well, yeah. But the guy was really mad at me and may have missed a key decision later on.

Hey, maybe on his next road trip the brilliantly innovative and colourful Maddon can give his players the theme of dressing like “Sport's greatest cheaters.” That would be fun. There could be David Price as Boston Marathon cheat Rosie Ruiz. Or Ben Zobrist as Bronx 14-year-old Little Leaguer Danny Almonte. Or Carlos Pena  as '36 Olympic high jumper Dora Ratjen, the German who turned out to be a guy named Hermann. Or Jose Molina as figure skater Tonya Harding. Or Evan Longoria as Hand of God soccer cheater Maradona.

In summary, Johnson was right, Maddon was right for covering for his players. Baseball was wrong for handing out eight games and maybe the rules need to be modified.  On to the mailbag:

Q-Hi Richard,

With Rasmus starting to look like the keeper we hoped he would be and with the continued development of some of our top prospects in Las Vegas, I started putting the pieces together for 2013. What I realized is that aside from a potentially potent offence, we may have the best defensive team in the majors next year. The Jays could potentially have a starting OF of Rasmus, Gose and Bautista, an infield of Lawrie (3B), Escobar (SS), Hechaverria (2B), D’Arnaud (C) and your pick between Lind, Cooper, Gomes, Arencibia, or Encarnacion at 1B. That's a lot of youth in a starting side but would I be right in saying this would be the top defensive team in the league if you believe all the reports on Gose, Hech, and D'Arnaud?

All the best,

Aaron Hickey, Sydney, Australia

A-I must say I was wrong about Colby Rasmus. I have maintained that he doesn't fit in the Jays' clubhouse and might never ... but that was last year when he was struggling at the plate and having trouble finding close friendships. This year, since Day 1 of training camp, he found a kindred spirit in catcher Jeff Mathis, a central Florida kid with similar interests. They speak the same language. This has spun off into solid relationships with other teammates.

He has even showed a wry sense of redneck humour that includes making fun of media as they wander through the clubhouse. He has loosened up everywhere including his signature two-out, arm wheel and flourish to his fellow outfielders after he makes a catch. His dad, Tony, was in Toronto on Father's Day and noted Colby's new ability to be himself, which apparently was discouraged under Cards' skipper Tony LaRussa.

Manager John Farrell was asked if he thinks of himself as the anti-Tony LaRussa: “More than anything, you deal with people as they are -- differently. I'm not saying you take a custom approach. You've got some basic elements that you try and get across to everyone. Everyone has their own personality and you try and bring out the most in each guy. Thankfully, he feels good about himself and where he's at right now.” Farrell has much to do with that. By the way, Tony Rasmus looks like he would be fun to play golf with. 

As for the potentially potent defensive Jays lineup, I agree that if that was the rotation, it would be pretty good, especially in the outfield and up the middle of the infield. However, you're talking about three rookie starters – Gose, Hechavarria, D'Arnaud -- in a lineup that must be constructed to compete. It can be done, but it would be a giant leap of faith in some unproven youngsters.

Q-If the Jays continue to have bullpen issues, and can sign Marcus Stroman before the end of the month, do you foresee them bringing him up to the big club in August. Of all the college pitchers in the draft, Stroman supposedly is the most major league-ready.

Vladimir Guerrero seems to have overvalued himself. No other team has wanted his services ever since he decided to just leave and quit on the Jays. Do you think his career is over?

Why don't the Jays call up Deck McGuire and/or Chad Jenkins? At the very least give Scott Richmond another shot. Jesse Chavez, Carlos Villanueva and Aaron Laffey are all guys who are better suited to coming out of the bullpen and being the long guys. You might as well see what you have with McGuire and Jenkins even though they have struggled in Double A. AA really messed up this offseason by not signing a veteran innings eater like Kevin Millwood or Hiroki Kuroda.

Jason Sinnarajah, San Francisco

A-With regard to Marcus Stroman, even though the right-hander had a good season at Duke and is a mature college pitcher, if they do sign him, he would need to be seen at the minor-league level and, besides, bringing a pitcher to the majors right away has never been the Jays' style. First of all, it gets the major-league clock ticking and what if he does not succeed right away in the first two months. Then they send him down next April and that counts as a first option. The Jays would prefer to start 2013 with any of their first-year pitchers, including Stroman, on a regular minor-league contract so that they can start his major-league clock on their sked and maximize the control they have down the road.

Vlad definitely jumped the gun and overvalued himself. Of course we all think we're better and more valuable than we are. In Guerrero's case, I truly believe he surprised his own agent, Bean Stringfellow (love writing that name) by giving the Jays an ultimatum. AA never ever includes an out clause in  any of his minor-league invites for veteran major-leaguers.

Handshake.

The AA agreement is always if you want out just tell us and we'll give you your release. He feels that word of mouth among players and their agents that the Jays are men of their word and that a verbal agreement with Toronto is all you need is better. He feels that this trust inside the walls of the industry is important to establishing the Jays as major players in free agency. Whether that's right or wrong, he sticks to his guns. I agree with him.

As for who should be called up to start, I would take a chance with Chad Jenkins. The Jays at the major league level play better defence and have better scouting reports and some pitchers thrive in the majors when they struggled – at least statistically – in the minors.

“I thought Chad threw the ball very well at spring training and yet he's somewhat, I don't want to say plateaued,” Farrell said. “He's kind of going along at the Double-A level. We're in a situation where need might necessitate that faster development track and some guys may respond in a favourable way. I'll tell you this, if needs continue to arise because of unfortunate circumstances, we may just put ourselves in a position to say 'You know what, let's give them the ball, give them the opportunity and see how he fares'.”

Q-Three starters gone in one week. Totally unheard of and two of them won't be back until the 2014 season. AA is stuck. Getting a good ML starter for prospects isn't going to happen so do you try and move Escobar and Arencibia for pitching because you have two top prospects waiting in the wings to take over their spots. I would rather see them rush them up than watch young pitchers not ready for prime time get battered about. Guys in the clubhouse will lose their will to win if they have to score more than 6 runs a game. So does AA have any other choices?

Dave Walker, Scarborough

A-Three starters on the DL in one trip through the Jays rotation is something I have never seen in my 40 years in baseball. But it's a leap of lack of faith to say that two of them won't be back until 2014. The Tommy John procedure has reached the point where 12 months is a pretty good estimate to have a pitcher back on the mound. Of course it all depends on the individual effort that any pitcher is willing to put in. But we're not even sure yet that Drew Hutchison is going to undergo the procedure, while Kyle Drabek could be back by next year's all-star break if everything goes well. Granted, for Drabek it is his second Tommy John surgery. Dodgers' starter Chris Capuano is an example of a pitcher that came back to pitch in the majors after two such operations.

Also, how can you make that sweeping statement that “getting a good ML starter for prospects isn't going to happen.” Think Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Randy Johnson, Gio Gonzalez, Mat Latos, the list goes on and on. In fact, that's the No. 1 way to get ML starters is with prospects. As for guys losing their will to win because they have to score six runs a game. That's the most ridiculous statement of the bunch. When a player puts on his uniform, he's not thinking about giving up on even one game, one at-bat, one pitch. It's his livelihood and pride takes over and a vision of his personal future as a professional baseball player is most important. You can't just rattle off your opinion as fact.

Q-Richard,

I am surprised that this question hasn't been asked yet, but here goes nothing...During the offseason AA and Beeston made mention that Rogers wouldn't have a problem supporting a larger payroll, when the players and fans show the support. It would seem to a fan that the players are really showing that they are ready to compete even after the loss of three starting pitchers in under a week, they have battled day in and day out for wins, and even when the lose they are right there in battle. So that is one point down, the players have shown they are ready to compete, AA has to stand up and now make his commitment to the team to take it to the next level. The second is the Fans. Aren't the Jays 5th in the largest attendance rate increase in all of baseball? The Fans are supporting the team at the stadium, and one would think the TV ratings have dramatically increased, oh and by the way, how about Jays merchandise, I read somewhere they are in the top five of merchandise sales now. The Fans and Players have stood up and showed that Baseball in Toronto is ready to compete, when will AA and Beeston show their end of the deal? Let's Go Blue Jays.

Scott Cochrane, Niagara-on-the-Lake

A-Those are good points about Beeston's off-season explanation of fans support leading to increased payroll, but the optimum time to add intelligent payroll is next off-season. Any Blue Jays payroll increase right now would likely be for expiring contracts for veterans from other teams poised for free agency. There are other, rare, opportunities for a guy like, say, 1B Justin Morneau if the Twins choose to go in that direction, trying to open a permanent position for Joe Mauer. Morneau has $14 million left for 2013 and I would do that if he proves he is healthy. But for Beeston and AA to respond moving forward properly to the promises they made, they must add new talent heading into 2013. To overpay now in 2012 yielding huge prospects for short term contracts, just because fans are calling them out, would be short-sighted. But let's keep your point in mind heading into the offseason. 

Q-I have a sort of off topic question - Cito Gaston. I have had heard many people wonder why he hasn't managed another MLB team since his World Series years in Toronto. Even Cito seems to wonder why this is.

 I remember during his first tenure with the Blue Jays as manager. In interviews and articles, he would always say that he never wanted to be a manager - always downplayed his desire to be a manager. Didn't seem to care if he was fired or not.

 Do you think his attitude is what kept him from managing another team? What team would want to hire a guy that did not seem to care if he got the job? I have always viewed Cito as a guy that wanted to manage again - but never showed a strong desire.

 He never was a great strategic manager, but his handling of players (especially the veterans) was excellent - he would always bring out the best in his players.

Chris Hiuser, Tecumseh

A-The most obvious response is that Cito was never given credit for what he did with the Blue Jays, because of the offensive talent on these two teams. The perception was that Gaston was a good batting coach reluctantly taking over a highly-paid, supremely talented Jays team as manager in '89 and just posting a line-up and watching them win. It was not a fair assessment. However, I guarantee one thing. If Gaston was white he would have managed again even after being fired by the Jays in '97.

Cito came close to managing with the White Sox. It came down to Ozzie Guillen and him. He had lunch with Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf at the Tampa Airport and Gaston recalled that it was a very positive get-together. The next day the Sox announced Ozzie as manager. The edge may have been in Guillen's history as a player with the White Sox.

After that, Cito interviewed with several other teams including the Brewers. At the last minute he withdrew his name from the Brewers' candidacy and from that point on he refused to just interview with teams. His feeling was that the commissioner's “affirmative action” mandate that every team needed to interview a minority candidate before naming a new manager – except, it seems, the Jays, when they hired John Gibbons full time. It made it seem like teams were just calling him in as a token interview to meet the requirement.

Gaston felt that his two World Series rings spoke more eloquently than any two-hour sit-down interview about personal philosophy ever could. “If you want me, just hire me.” Cito's not the only African-American to come to that conclusion. Hal McRae also stopped going to interviews.   

Q-Richard,

As a Canadian who moved from Canada between the Blue Jays World Series wins, I really enjoy your column and insight. With divided loyalties, I was fortunate to be at Miller Park last night for one the wildest games I can remember since game 4 of the 93 World Series. I was hoping to see Lawrie face Shaun Marcum, but it was still good to see Garth Iorg coaching first base. Aside from the 5 lead changes, 3 walked in runs, 1 hit batter run, a grand slam, consecutive home runs (3 and then 2), a strike out/passed ball to keep an inning going, there was lots of Canadian content.

Well everyone is familiar with Brett Lawrie (who played in Appleton), John Axford, Gord Ash and Doug Melvin, there were also pinch hit appearances by George Kottaras and Taylor Green. That makes 4 Canadians to play in a major league game. Do you know if that is a record? 

I am looking forward to the Lansing Lugnuts coming to Appleton next month to showcase the Jays upcoming talent. It's a nice park and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a community owned team, similar to the Packers up the road in Green Bay. Let me know if you come to town and I'll buy you a cold one at the Leinie Lodge.

Thanks
,

Scott Fraser
, Appleton, Wisconsin

A-The Leinie Lodge looks like a great spot to meet for a cold Leinenkugel and a brat. I agree with you about the craziness of that Tuesday Jays-Brewers game at Miller Park. The whole series reminded me of the series in May 2010 at Chase Field in Phoenix when Edwin went crazy in that high-scoring three-game interleague series against the D-backs. In fact the weather in Milwaukee this week was very Phoenix-like as well. As for the four Canadians in one game. I was asked that question in the press box by the irrepressible Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. My recollection is that there had been other games with four Canadians in the same box score. I think the day Lachine, Quebec's Denis Boucher made his debut for the Expos back on September 6, 1993, his catcher was Windsor's Joe Sidall and his right fielder was Maple Ridge's Larry Walker I looked it up. There were no Canadians for the Rockies that day, but as the P.R. guy I had to do the research on most Canadians in a game and I believe it was four. I just misplaced my notes from 19 years ago. Forgive me.   

Q-Hello Richard,

I want to thank you for including my daughter's question about Brian Jeroloman and Koby Clemens in Mailbag. She was thrilled. I've never been a fan of Paul Beeston, not sure what he brings to the table. It is repugnant to read he is friends with a creep like Clemens, who has laughably escaped prosecution. And what ever happened to the story that Clemens was dallying with the underage girl? 
Good message to the youth of the country. Barry Bonds, LeBron James, Dany Heatley, etc.....

Thanks again,

Selby Martin, Toronto

A-The legal process is what it is and the case against Clemens of perjury and obstruction of justice, for which he was found not guilty, was weakened considerably when Andy Pettitte remembered that he had mis-remembered his conversation with the Rocket from the early '00s. That left the prosecution as a he said/he said with Brian McNamee. I'm not sure how necessary it was for Clemens to be found guilty and spend any time in jail. The Rocket's legacy has been tarnished forever.

As for the mystery woman you ask about in Roger's past, that was country singer Mindy McCready who was linked romantically to Clemens in an explosive New York Daily News piece in '08. McCready has recorded five country albums, but when she is alleged to have met Clemens, it was as a 15 or 16-year-old karaoke singer in a Fort Myers bar in '92.

McCready tearfully confirmed the sexual relationship to the paper in April of 2008, two months after the Rocket had appeared in front of a congressional committee on performance enhancers, a tough stretch for Clemens. Clemens, through his lawyer Rusty Hardin, threatened the Daily News with a defamation suit, claiming the relationship with McCready was as a family friend and that his wife Debbie was aware of the friendship. McCready apparently mis-remembered, according to Hardin. And, hey, what did LeBron ever do except leave Cleveland and win an NBA championship, proving he is one of the Top 10 players in NBA history?

Q-What does the recent spate of arm injuries mean for the Jays' incremental arm development plan? We've been so careful not to overwork the arms, yet it doesn't seem to matter, eh?

Tony Baer, Baraboo

A-That's a very good question. The Jays are perhaps going to have to review their minor-league methods. The Jays traditionally take draft pick signees and nurture them in their first few years as pros. A kid may have been over-worked as a high school or NCAA stud, but the Jays send them to spring training and have them on strict inning and pitch counts as the season goes on.

For instance the Lansing staff is loaded with pitching talent, but for the first two months they piggy-backed at a maximum of three innings up to four, five etc. Then after they've been in the system a couple of years, they give each pitcher a total innings limit in the minors and again when he reaches the majors.

Major league pitches are considered more stressful. For example, the Jays had planned on limiting Hutchison to 150 total innings this year. A couple of years ago, they shut down Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil in September and sent them home as healthy scratches. The options are like teaching a baby to swim by either giving him or her lessons for months or by throwing them in the deep end of the pool.   

Q-Hi Richard,

Two questions from me: 1) In my view, the team pile-on walk-off celebrations are getting out of hand. I thought streaming out of the dugout and jumping on each other was reserved for clinching a playoff spot, but now a Rajai Davis single in June will spark one. Is there an old guard vs new guard feeling about them in the baseball world? 

2) The Blue Jays voted to contract the Expos in 2001, and when they moved to Washington I boycotted MLB and the Jays by not buying game tickets. Will the Blue Jays ever apologize to Expos fans for that vote or should I see a therapist about learning how to let go? Thanks!

Seth Bernstein, Toronto

A-I agree with you on walk-off celebrations. I think the thought process in all things on the baseball diamond should be “What would Henry Aaron do?” If the Hammer hit a game-winning home run during the regular season, I have trouble in my mind seeing him taking a giant leap onto home plate and then bouncing around with teammates like Hannibal's troops going through the Alps on pogo sticks. I have trouble seeing Mr. Aaron delivering a shaving cream pie in the face to Eddie Mathews as he's sitting for a TV interview. So, no. Don't do it.

As for your displeasure with the Jays on voting for contraction back in '01. I too had a huge problem with that and have written as such through the years. It would have been a stand admired by other major-league owners if the Jays had stuck with the other major-league Canadian team. Bud Selig wanted a unanimous vote, well, other than the Expos. Carl Pohlad who abstained in Minnesota. But he stood to get a big payoff in contraction and he couldn't get approval for a new stadium, since built. Yeah, I hate the Jays for that one moment, but if you love baseball, let it go. Enjoy the game.    

Q-Hi Richard;

After a Jays game I go to their website and scroll through the box score. A batter that is hit by a pitch, or walks, or gets on due to catcher interference does not get credit for a base on the total bases line. But if the bases were full when this happened, he'd get an RBI. Someone like Bautista should be credited with over a hundred bases a year. Isn't a walk as good as a hit?

No one should feel bad about Vladdy being released. Talk to the Orioles about the rally-killing, inning-ending double plays that he grounded into. This has been a bad year for former stars. Vladdy, Moyer, Ramirez, and Matsui doing little with the Rays. Even Thome is not earning his salary.

Thanks Richard,

Art Hilderman, Winnipeg

A-That's why a stat like OPS (On-Base plus Slugging) is an important gauge for offensive contribution. It gives much credit to walks as part of the on-base and for power as a calculation of total bases divided by at-bats. It's not perfect, but if you go online and sort any team by OPS or career Hall-of-Famers, it comes out in a pretty meaningful order.

Vlad was not going to put the Jays over the top and I had already started to hear that inside the Jays' clubhouse, which is a very good environment right now, there was not a lot of sentiment to parachute Guerrero into the mix. That was even before Vlad quit I was hearing that. The last guy that came to the Jays because he needed some home runs for 500 was Frank Thomas and how did that work out?

Q-If Chad Mottola is so great at fixing broken Blue Jay swings (e.g. Lind, Snider, Encarnacion), why don't we just make him the hitting coach? Lind's recent statement to the Star that, when he gets recalled: "Chad won't be there and I'll have to be able to adjust by myself -- is kind of sad, no?

Tony Baer, Baraboo

Q-Hi Richard,

One consistent pattern for the Blue Jay minor league hitters is that, on going from AA to AAA, they almost always hit better, often significantly. This year's examples include D'Arnaud, Gomes, Gose, Hechavarria and Sierra while in the recent past, others were Arencibia, Lawrie and Thames. While there may be a 'Las Vegas' factor at work, I also wonder if the Blue Jays might improve by promoting Mottola to be the major league batting coach. What do you think? Also, in all the discussion of possible promotions, why isn't Moises Sierra mentioned? He is reported to be an excellent outfielder with good power and is currently batting over .300.

Bill Reynolds, Toronto

A-I thought back at spring training when Dwayne Murphy went home for a couple of weeks for some family issues and Mottola stayed in major-league camp, I believed that the Jays might be thinking about adding Mottola to the major-league staff as an associate hitting coach. In fact, both World Series teams last year, the Cards and the Rangers had already stumbled upon that process. Think about it, the pitching coach has the bullpen coach to bounce ideas off. The hitting coach as 13 players and one cage and one pair of eyes and ears. I think they should add Mottola as an associate. He came up last September and he and Murph are on the same page, with some differences. That's a good thing.

Q-Hi Richard,

I'm already thinking about next year and was wondering if the best route for the Jays to put plus players in every position would be to move Bautista back to third and move Lawrie to second base.

 I have to think that finding an outfielder with a left handed power bat would be far easier than finding a quality second baseman. I also foresee the possibility of a very flexible line-up with multiple options at OF/1B/DH and catcher however without Lind we are still in need of some left handed bats.

Andrew Blakeney, Toronto

A-I disagree on pretty much all of that. Bautista does not want to play third base and he is your best player. I might try and convince him to play first base. Lawrie is going to be  a Gold Glove third baseman. If he played second base I could see him on a double play pivot where a guy slides in hard, with Brett descending to sit on his chest and chew his face off. (sorry I'm in Miami and distracted) You would have to keep three catchers to have both D'Arnaud and Arencibia if J.P. was to move around other positions. That's the one with three catchers that may not be as problematic for me.

Q-When JP Riccardi came in he tried to implement an offence that had players work the count in hopes of getting to the middle relievers early. It failed miserably and Cito had to be brought back to fix things. Now Farrell comes in with the same mantra and look what has happened to the offence.This type of offence may work in Boston, New York or Texas where you have six all-star type players in your line-up but it has been shown that with our collection of castoffs it doesn't work here.

Don't you think it's time to go back to a Cito-type of offensive approach because everyone is sick of constantly watching Jays players take first pitch fastballs down the gut and then striking out on a curve in the dirt. Yes the Jays may get to the bullpen earlier but usually they are losing 4-0 by then and the fans have either left the building or turned off their TVs and radios.

Gus Bolin, Keene, ON

A-I've never been a fan of taking strike one and getting yourself into a pitcher's count right away. And when opponents know that a team philosophy is to work the count they become less reluctant to pound the strike zone on the first pitch. If they are aware, however, that you are looking for a certain pitch, certain spot and that even on first pitch you will crush it, they make a mistake, they become more careful and are more likely to miss on first pitch and all of a sudden the hitter is in charge.

Another problem for the Jays' young hitters is that under Cito, batting coach Murphy was delivering a message of controlled aggression. Then a year later, the same Jays guys step into the batting cage and Murph is suddenly preaching working the count and having 7-10 pitch at-bats to get the starting pitcher out of the game. It's like when Bob Dylan went through his Christian phase. “Say what, Mr. Zimmerman?” Don't think that mixed message is confusing? Ask Adam Lind.

The Bullpen: Injuries leave Blue Jays at a crossroads

For the Blue Jays, this uber-eventful past week at home is either the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning.

They either find out that nobody on the farm is ready to replace their three injured starters and begin to spiral out of control through the standings, or they discover that some of the guys on the farm actually will thrive with better defence and more thorough scouting of opposing hitters.

Anyway, wasn’t Hutchison going to be shut down at 150 innings, anyway? So instead of taking the final month off, he can take it in the middle of the season. That’s a glass-half-full view.

Of course, the other view is that the Jays are toast and might as well start re-arranging the deck chairs and offering up contracts of veterans on one-year deals at the trade deadline.   

This has been the story of the Jays’ roller-coaster season thus far. What’s down is up and what’s up is down. When they’re expected to win, they lose. When disaster looms, they bounce back and string Ws together. For the seven days starting on Monday, the Jays were 3-3, losing a series to the Nationals and sweeping the Phillies, without Roy Halladay, both at the Rogers Centre.

What makes the week so truly unusual is that nine pitches into Thursday’s series opener vs. the Phillies, the Jays had lost three games in the week and had lost three starting pitchers to the disabled list.

On Monday, Brandon Morrow strained his left oblique. On Wednesday, it was Drabek tearing his ulnar collateral ligament, likely headed for Tommy John surgery and on Friday it was a sprained UCL suffered by Hutchison. The organization and its fans are still reeling.

The frustration shone through in this most telling quote of the week from manager John Farrell that was spoken even before the Hutchison injury: “This is a challenge. Nobody gives a (bleep) about the Toronto Blue Jays except the people in the clubhouse.”

Frustration and defiance.

It’s significant. The three missing pitchers have totalled 207 2/3 innings, 37 starts and 16 wins. Those are tough numbers to replace. As of Sunday night, the Jays had not announced pitchers for either Tuesday or Wednesday at Miller Park against the Brewers.

The bullpen was amazing and busy over the six games this week. Overall, the Jays’ pen was 2-1 with one save, working 32 innings, allowing 26 hits, 8 runs, 7 earned, 11 walks and 27 strikeouts. Multiple inning relief performances, even by one-inning relievers, were the order of the day.

Leading the way in terms of bullpen work were: Luis Perez 5.1 IP; Villanueva 5 IP; Laffey 4.1 IP; Frasor 3.2 IP; Beck 3.2 IP; Janssen 3 IP; Cordero 2.2 IP; Oliver 2 IP; Coello 2 IP; Crawford 0.1 IP.

The starters combined to pitch 23 innings. Frasor led with four relief appearances.

The Jays on Sunday flew in 13 Jays fathers, including the infamous Tony Rasmus, father of Colby, who was vilified by Cardinals manager LaRussa and the organization for his allegedly meddling ways when it came to his son’s batting. Needless to say his disdain for the Cardinal organization was mutual. Rasmus said he hasn’t seen his son this happy playing ball in years.

“It’s a big deal,” Tony Rasmus said of the Jays’ gesture of flying all the families in for Father’s Day.

“The first thing my wife said was, ‘Did St. Louis ever do this?’ So we were really excited about the opportunity to get to do this.”  

The Jays this week signed 22 of their 54 draft picks, including OF D.J. Davis, an outfielder from Stone County High School, in Mississippi. He is the son of Wayne Davis, a former Blue Jays’ farmhand from 1983-86. The Jays signed Davis for $1.75 million, according to Baseball America, saving $250,000 on the slot for No. 17 overall. The Jays signed 11 of their 14 picks in the first 10 rounds. The three Jays picks remaining before the July 13 deadline are No. 22 RHP Marcus Stroman, No. 50 LHP Matt Smoral and No. 81 RHP Chase DeJong.

MLB POWER RANKINGS

Last week’s rankings in parentheses   

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

Are always good early, but for L.A. the 162-game season always marathon of hope

2. New York Yankees (2)

A-Rod tied Gehrig’s record for slams, paid tribute to Iron Horse

3. Washington Nationals (4)

Harper, Strasburg best 1-2 punch under 24 in baseball 

4. Texas Rangers (3)

Rangers pitching melting down so fast, Al Gore is investigating

5. Tampa Bay Rays (5)

Matt Moore starting to live up to hype. Now what about the bats?

6. Cincinnati Reds (9)

Chapman million dollar arm and two-cent brain; Votto rules

7. Atlanta Braves (6)

Feeling the heat....and it’s not even the dog days yet 

8. San Francisco Giants (7)

Cain’s perfect game and Blanco catch highlight the week

9. Baltimore Orioles (11)

Everyone waiting for O’s collapse, but pitching hanging in

10. Chicago White Sox (8)

Sale and Peavy fuel a surprising renaissance

11. Los Angeles Angels (10)

Who knew Trout could help entire franchise swim upstream

12. New York Mets (12)

Worst idea in sports? Allowing MLB to overturn scorer’s decisions

13. Cleveland Indians (14)

Damon’s bid for 3,000 hits may not end well

14. Boston Red Sox (15)

When Sox get healthy this ranking should head north 

15. St. Louis Cardinals (16)

They do miss the 10-year face of the franchise

16. Miami Marlins (13)

Found out hotel this week is near where man’s face chewed off (see below)

17. Toronto Blue Jays (17)

Starting pitchers falling faster than Nik Wallenda with the hiccups

18. Detroit Tigers (18)

Catcher Alex Avila’s injury demonstrates his true value

19. Arizona Diamondbacks (22)

D-backs slowly climbing back to respectability

20. Pittsburgh Pirates (20)

Have not finished .500 since George H.W. Bush was prez 

21. Philadelphia Phillies (19)

Most disappointing team in baseball 

22. Oakland A’s (23)

This is team that will continue to improve as year goes on

23. Seattle Mariners (21)

Seems everyone that faces them goes to hill with “no-hit stuff”

24. Minnesota Twins (24)

Can franchise support both M’s – Mauer and Morneau?

25. Kansas City Royals (26)

Hosmer and Hochevar will need to help them move forward

26. Milwaukee Brewers (25)

Miller Field magic melts away like Gouda cheese on a hot sidewalk

27. Houston Astros (27)

Seems everyone that faces them went to hill with “perfect-game stuff”

28. Colorado Rockies (28)

Canadian LHP Jeff Francis in second tour of duty 

29. San Diego Padres (29)

If I became a free agent this is where I would want to write

30. Chicago Cubs (30)

Going nowhere. Dempster and Garza and pray for trade

THE ESSAY: WARREN CROMARTIE SPEARHEADS BASEBALL’S RETURN TO MONTREAL

The Expos experience was always something special for those major-leaguers that played in Montreal, whether it was the Jarry Park years from 1969-76, or the Olympic Stadium era from 1977-2004.

Those Expos players, especially in the years from ’75 to ’94, remained friends even after they left the organization in trade, even after they eventually retired. Whenever they get together, they still laugh, they cry, they reminisce, exchanging war stories of working, playing and partying in Montreal, enjoying the city, the organization, the fans and growing up with each other.

The fact is I have never seen a closer group of athletes in my 40 years in baseball, from spring training through the end of each season. Maybe it was the fact of being an English minority in a foreign land, living among fans that respected their space, yet lived and died with their on-field exploits.

Unfortunately major-league baseball is now gone and apathy seems to rule.

Montrealers have accepted too easily their team is gone, uprooted to Washington D.C. to become the Nationals. Quel dommage.

For one of those Expos players, former outfielder/first baseman Warren Cromartie, a man who has always found the time to return on a regular basis for various functions and charities, including an annual ALS fund-raiser to find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease, the outgoing and popular Miami native finally had had enough and wanted to do something to correct the absence of pro baseball.

I talked to Cro by phone the day that Gary Carter passed away. I spoke to him again at the Kid’s memorial service in Palm Beach Gardens. On both occasions, he was passionate and adamant, angry that the city seemed not to remember the Expos, especially in the early ’80s and early ’90s.

There were no shrines, no museums, no Expos logos, no fans wearing retro jerseys, nowhere to go for a history lesson on baseball in Montreal — the Expos, the Royals, anything.

Whenever Cro spoke individually to fans in the city, he knew they were still passionate about the Expos and about pro baseball, but, from his point of view, the various levels of government in Montreal and Quebec were neglecting, no, burying an important part of their sporting history.  

As such, with a little help from his former baseball friends, many of whom he had spoken to about the project only after Carter’s death, Cromartie formed an association called the Montreal Baseball Project (MBP) whose goal is to ultimately bring professional baseball back to the city, a move that he hopes will lead to the return of the big boy, major-league baseball.

Realistically, it won’t be that easy, maybe it will be impossible. MLB is more than ever a closed fraternity that seems to not want to expand to Canada, but Cro certainly deserves credit for trying.

This past weekend, June 14-16, featured a series of events for MBP, kicked off with an introduction of former Expos stars on the field before an Alouettes-Blue Bombers exhibition game last Thursday.

The list of former Expos on hand for the festivities included Cromartie, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Ellis Valentine, Larry Parrish, Wallace Johnson, Bryn Smith, Stan Bahnsen, Bill Gullickson, Rodney Scott, Rowland Office and Bill “Spaceman” Lee. Nice.

Further to a presence at the football game, the friends of baseball in Montreal staged a Friday golf tournament on Ile Perot and organized a Saturday dinner that was preceded by a Fan Fest and various clinics for young baseball players in the city. The beneficiary of any money raised was the Cedars Cancer Institute. The beneficiary of any attention raised was baseball in Montreal.

Cromartie’s efforts and those of his former teammates are admirable, but it will be a long grind. The first priority is to get a solid ownership group together. Cromartie is well aware of that. The second thing is to find a location for a stadium, one that could start small and be expanded if the idea catches on. The group can’t just start with a demand for major-league ball.

But a return at any level of pro ball, especially if it was affiliated with a major-league team, especially the Jays, would be preferable to having no ball at all. As such, good luck, gentlemen. Let’s get pro baseball back in Montreal.

THE RANT: DUSTY BAKER AND DEREK LOWE EXCHANGE INSULTS. WHAT’S NEXT?

Reds manager Dusty Baker and Indians pitcher Derek Lowe just plain don’t like each other and it’s turned into a nasty war of words. But, really, why is this considered bad and what makes this any different than the silly Cole Hamels-Bryce Harper incident that cost the Phillies’ pitcher a five-game suspension?

Make no mistake about it, the Office of the Commissioner is paying attention to a potential Baker-Lowe 2 this Monday in Cleveland. 

The recent fallout of what turns out is a four-year-old feud is this: On June 13, Lowe came to the plate in Cincy and was low-bridged by Reds starter Mat Latos by a 96 mph fastball.

Lowe turned his head and glared at the Reds’ dugout, specifically at Baker, who waved his index finger back and forth in Dikembe Mutombo fashion. “Don’t bring that weak stuff in here,” is the gist.

The two men had a similar thing going on four years ago when Lowe was with the Dodgers and was nasty as well. Here’s how the back-and-forth went. On Wednesday after the game, Lowe was asked by reporters about the chin music from Latos.

“Dusty will deny it. It has everything to do with him. You can go ask him. He’ll deny it like he has no idea. They’ve been trying to do this for years. I’d always come up with men on base. To say it didn’t come from Dusty, Mat Latos was with the San Diego Padres the last four years. He has no idea what’s going on.

“Again, you can ask him and he’ll say he doesn’t know (anything) about it like he always does. This goes back to my last year with the Dodgers. He made up some story. A lot of people got involved. People almost got fired over it. You can go ask him right now and he’ll say he has no idea what you’re talking about. But just watch the game. Mat Latos has nothing to do with anything that has gone on. How would he know? Why would you throw a 96 mph fastball, first pitch, inside to a pitcher? Ask him.”

Then on Thursday morning before the series finale, Baker was asked for any response to Lowe.

“He had some words for me. I really didn’t want to make a public thing or a public spectacle. He’s the one who brought it up. He had some choice words for me. I really don’t care if he respects me. It doesn’t matter. No. 1, you’ve got to ask him why he hit Joey Votto in the back two years ago.

“Yesterday, he took exception to a ball inside that didn’t hit him, then hit Brandon Phillips after that. I’m not denying nothing. I didn’t order anyone to hit him. I told (Mat Latos) to buzz him and make him uncomfortable. That’s what happened. Nobody hit him. Then he hit our guy.

“What he was talking about was something that he said and did a few years. You got to ask him what that was. You got a lot people involved in the situation that didn’t need to be involved in the situation. It didn’t come from there. Go ask him since he made it public. Understand what I’m saying. I’ll let it rest at that since he’s such a big man running his mouth talking about himself.”

Now here Dusty is admitting that he asked his pitcher to “buzz” Lowe. And then Lowe responds soon after by hitting Phillips. How is that different than what Hamels said and did?

As journalists and fans we get mad at those in sports that speak in clichés and without emotion. Then when someone does speak the truth, they are criticized again. We can’t have it both ways.

I don’t think Hamels should have been suspended and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Lowe and Baker not liking each other. But, really, if Hamels is going to be suspended, why not Baker, who said he had his man knock Lowe down and how about Lowe who clearly retaliated by hitting Phillips.

For the commissioner, it’s about consistency in the message. He shouldn’t have suspended Hamels, but what now? All or nothing.

AL ROUNDUP

The resurgent Yankees marched into Washington and swept the Nationals three games in front of full houses, extending the Bombers’ win streak to nine games. The Nats sure looked good in Toronto earlier in the week and sure looked bad at home. All of a sudden the Yanks’ rotation is shaping up with Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte.

The Angels have a tough decision when RH Jered Weaver returns from his sore back this week. He will likely bump RH Garrett Richards (2-0, 0.86 ERA) back to the minors. OF Vernon Wells had thumb surgery to repair a torn UCL in his thumb and is out at least until the end of July. The Angels have taken off without the former Jays’ star.

The O’s were happy to have 2B Brian Roberts back on the field after a year away with a concussion. His average is back to normal, but he has yet to produce an extra-base hit. It’s all about timing and he hasn’t got that back yet.

Rookie LH Matt Moore has won three straight decisions for the Rays and is heading towards the form that everyone expected after his dazzling playoff performance last year. “I like the fact that he commanded his breaking ball without trying to overthrow it, and then it started becoming a strike,” manager Joe Maddon told Rays media. “Now they have to honour the fastball and breaking ball mentality. That makes it very difficult.” 3B Evan Longoria began a minor-league rehab on Saturday at Triple-A Durham.

The A’s Cuban CF Yoenis Cespedes came off the DL stint recovered from his thumb issues. But now he has been battling left hamstring woes, although he remains active. If the following story sounds familiar it is because it is. OF Manny Ramirez asked for and was given his release by the A’s because he was not being promoted from the minor leagues fast enough. Manny had finished serving his 50-game MLB suspension for a second PED failure, but the A’s kept him at Triple-A. Ramirez asked for his relief. It parallels the story of Jays’ minor league DH Vlad Guerrero who insisted he be recalled right away or given his release. He still has not re-signed.

The Rangers have been trying to seamlessly integrate right-hander Yu Darvish into the North American style of pitching. However, after noticing that he was struggling with fatigue issues, the Rangers gave him an extra three days between starts and he responded with 11 strikeouts in a 6-2 win over the Astros. OF Josh Hamilton had been sidelined on the weekend with dehydration and a stomach virus. It’s a condition that has run rampant in one form or another through the Rangers clubhouse. Starter Derek Holland had the worst case, going on the DL and losing 15 lbs. He wants to play again on Monday in San Diego.

The White Sox will start former Jays right-hander Zach Stewart on Monday against the Cubs. Veteran John Danks is still not ready to return to the active ranks.

 

 

NL ROUNDUP

The Nationals invaded Canada for three games and left no prisoners, behind the impressive play of 19-year-old outfielder Bryce Harper and 23-year-old right-hander Stephen Strasburg. The last time Washington made as big an impact in Canada was ’04 when they swooped in and stole the Expos back to D.C. We will always remember. It was nice that at the same time, they were celebrating the 200-year anniversary of the War of 1812, conveniently forgetting that with the help of the British, we went in and burned down their White House. I think they are still ahead by stealing the Expos, our national NL team. The first visit by Harper to Canada will forever be remembered for his classic answer to the unfortunate TV broadcaster that asked him if he might be celebrating Tuesday’s monster homer off the Blackberry sign in centre field at the Rogers Centre with a nice Canadian beer, since the drinking age is 19 in Canada. Harper’s response: “That’s a clown question, bro.’ ” Harper and his family are Mormons. As good as Harper and the Nats were in Toronto, they were swept by the Yankees. In Saturday’s game, Harper was 0-for-7 with five strikeouts.

The Marlins offence has been struggling and hitting coach Eduardo Perez has been taking some heat but gets a spirited defence from manager Ozzie Guillen. The art of Tweeting has never seen a more prolific practitioner than LF Logan Morrison, who is raucous and irreverent. He got in trouble last season and was sent briefly to Triple-A New Orleans as punishment. 3B Hanley Ramirez suffered a slight fracture of his nose as a baseball rattled off his face in a batting cage. Much maligned closer Heath Bell has converted 11 straight saves and has not blown an opportunity since May 4.

The Giants highlight of the week was Matt Cain’s perfect game against the Astros. He threw 125 pitches and was supported by a sensational diving catch in right centrefield by Gregor Blanco. The lowlight came when 1B Aubrey Huff injured his right knee hopping the short fence in front of the dugout to join in the celebration.

Mets manager Terry Collins was so concerned about Canadian left-fielder Jason Bay and his second concussion in the past 12 months that he sent him home for the weekend after crashing headfirst into the wall on Friday. Bay, who Collins feels may be done for the year, was booed by idiot Mets fans as he was helped off the field.

Cubs Canadian right-hander Ryan Dempster knows he’s trade bait at the deadline. He is 3-3, with a 2.11 ERA and would be a solid acquisition for teams, including the Jays. “I’m not naive, I’m not oblivious to what’s going on,” Dempster told Chicago media. “But it’s really kind of, not out of my control, actually it really is in my control. It’s one of those things if I focused on that and I worried about that, I wouldn’t be doing a very good job as a teammate to those guys in there, and I wouldn’t be doing a very good job for myself if I wasn’t focusing on what I need to do.” Dempster has been 10 years in the majors and the last five with the same team, meaning he can veto or approve any trade.

The Braves lost NL ERA leader Brandon Beachy to right elbow soreness and the DL. He will be replaced in the rotation by RH Jair Jurrjens, recalled from Triple-A. Jurrjens at one time was considered one of the bright young starters in the game.

The Astros optioned Brett Wallace back to Triple-A Oklahoma City after 1B Carlos Lee returned from the DL on the weekend. How far has Wallace’s star fallen since he was regarded as the Jays’ first-baseman of the future in a follow-up to the Roy Halladay deal?

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL HISTORY

6/18/76 The A’s eccentric owner Charlie Finley showed his hatred and disdain for the new rules of free agency. He sold stars OF Joe Rudi and CL Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox and LHP Vida Blue to the Yankees at the June 15 trade deadline, but commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who often had butted heads with the irascible insurance magnate from Chicago, negated the deals citing “the best interests of baseball.” ... 6/18/86 the Angels’ Don Sutton posts his 300th career victory. It was against the Rangers, a three-hitter... 6/19/38 after consecutive no-hitters, Johnny Vander Meer worked into the fourth inning against the Boston Braves before ending his hitless streak at 21 innings... 6/20/90 former Expos star C Gary Carter, then with the Giants, caught his 1,862nd game, eclipsing the MLB record of Al Lopez. Carter later went to the Dodgers and back to the Expos... 6/20/86 The struggling White Sox fired manager Tony LaRussa after a slow start, replacing him with future Phillies and Jays skipper Jim Fregosi. LaRussa signed shortly after that with the A’s... 6/21/39 the Iron Horse, Yankee 1B Lou Gehrig announces his retirement after it is discovered he is suffering from ALS. His illness ended his consecutive games streak at 2,130... 6/21/64 On Father’s Day, Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning tosses a perfect game at Shea Stadium that I remember seeing live on TV. The closest thing to a hit was C Jesse Gonder ripping a line drove speared by 2B Tony Taylor. Bunning was the second pitcher ever to record no-hitters in both leagues... 6/22/90 the struggling Braves fire manager Russ Nixon and replace him with Bobby Cox. Pretty good move... 6/23/63 eccentric White Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall hits his 100th career HR and famously circles the bases backwards. Pitcher Dallas Green was not amused, but the fans and his teammates were.

Birthdays this week: Lou Brock 73, Andres Galarraga 51, Lou Gehrig 109, Dickie Thon 54. 

MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP

Triple A Las Vegas (39-31)...The 51’s lost to Colorado Springs 16-4 on Sunday. 1B Adam Lind was 2-for-5 and is batting .412. C Travis D’Arnaud is batting .335 with 15 homers and 48 RBIs. SS Adeiny Hechavarria is hitting .332 with 47 RBIs. LF Travis Snider was 2-for-5 in his second game back and is hitting .337. RHP Jesse Chavez is 7-2 with a 3.84 ERA... AA-New Hampshire (24-43)...The Fisher Cats beat Bowie 4-3 in 13 innings on Sunday. 1B Mike McDade was 1-for-6 and is batting .308. The biggest disappointment has been the back-to-back first-round draft picks from 2009-10, RHP Chad Jenkins (2-6, 5.84 ERA) and RHP Deck McGuire, who pitched 5 innings on Sunday and is 2-8, 6.62 ERA. RHP Joel Carreno is 1-4 with a 4.71 ERA... A-Dunedin (41-23) ...CF Jake Marisnick is batting .262, with three homers, 26 RBIs and eight steals. RHP John Stilson is 3-0, 2.82 ERA. LHP Sean Nolin is 7-0, 2.35 ERA... A-Lansing (47-22) ... the Lugnuts beat Great Lakes 9-2 on Sunday. LF Kevin Pillar hit his third homer, with four RBIs and is batting .319 with 27 stolen bases. Pitching is the story at Lansing as RHP Aaron Sanchez leads the way with 6-0, 0.77 ERA. He worked four innings with no decision on Sunday... A-Vancouver (2-1) ... the Canadians lost 7-3 to Spokane. 1B Balbino Fuenmayor was 2-for-4 and is hitting .429.

ONE FOR THE ROAD

This week’s road trip takes the Jays and me to Milwaukee and Miami. I’m covering those two stops and am looking forward to Miami. Not so sure about Milwaukee. I think the last time I was in Milwaukee for the all-star game a few years ago, it rained for two days, including Home Run Derby Monday and at the hotel I was assigned, the bellman that brought me to my room proudly told me that this was the hotel — located near Marquette University — that notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer used to lure some of his victims. Didn’t see that referenced in the online brochure.

That was also the all-star game that ended in a tie and prompted the rule change where the all-star winning league earns home field advantage at the World Series. Not Bud Selig’s proudest moment as he sat confused in the field-side box seats in the 12th inning as managers and umpires told him there was no more pitching.

The post-all-star game party was held in tents just outside the Brewers stadium and I remember being unable to order a Miller Lite. Only Bud and Bud Light, ironically in the shadow of Miller Park. Bud was the official beer of MLB and all that, but had nothing to do with making Milwaukee famous. Strange.

Are there two more polar opposite cities in terms of reputation than Wisconsin’s biggest little city on the shores of Lake Michigan and Florida’s capital of cool with South Beach, art deco and all.

Last time I was on Miami Beach, was for a winter meetings. The Clevelander is my favourite South Beach night spot, with outdoor bar set up around the swimming pool with rickety foot bridges, throbbing dance music and cold beer. Joe’s Stone Crab for lunch is a must. The most bizarre place I went to was with Jeff Blair of the Globe & Mail, a Goth bar called The Kitchen. It was pitch black inside, with no lighting and you had to feel your way around. The music was equally bizarre. Blair loved it.

Oh, by the way, the hotel I chose is on the MacArthur Causeway, which was in the news recently right near my lobby, when some nut job ate the face off another guy. I detect a trend with me and road hotels. From Florida, the team heads to Boston and will be joined for coverage by The Star’s Brendan Kennedy.

Blue Jays mailbag: Is it time to bring up Gose, Hechavarria and d'Arnaud?

Adeiny Hechavarria at bat with the Las Vegas 51s. BRENDAN KENNEDY / TORONTO STAR

 

It's Father's Day weekend. Of all the major pro sports, the NHL and MLB seem to boast the most family connections, generation after generation of players and their sons.

As such, Happy Father's Day to these Blue Jays father-son connections: Sandy Alomar (Sandy Jr. and Roberto); Jesse Barfield (Josh); Mickey Brantley (Michael); Sal Butera (Drew); Jose Cruz (Jose Jr.); Doug Drabek (Kyle); Cecil Fielder (Prince); Tom Fletcher (Darrin); Dave LaRoche (Adam, Andy); Clyde Mashore (Damon); Gary Matthews (Gary, Jr.); John Mayberry (John); Dave McKay (Cody); Hal McRae (Brian); Bob Oliver (Darren); Gary Roenicke (Josh); Dick Schofield (Dick); Diego Segui (David); Chris Speier (Justin); Ed Sprague (Ed); Mel Stottlemyre (Mel, Todd); Dennis Werth (Jayson); Maury Wills (Bump).

And a special Father's Day wish to Jays' manager John Farrell. His 21-year-old son Luke, last October was being treated for a re-occurring tumour on the back of his skull. He spent over a month at a state-of-the-art clinic in Boston accompanied by father John and mother, Sue. The junior at Northwestern U. in Chicago, started back to class in early December and resumed pitching for the Wildcats for the spring season. Luke has rebounded well and earned a pitching spot in the highly-regarded Cape Cod Summer League near Boston. For Luke and the Farrells' two other sons, it will be a Happy Father's Day.    

Q-Hi Richard,

Your mailbag rocks. Please do it regularly. Rather frustrating when I try to look for it on Fridays and came out emptyhanded.

 Questions:

1-The current Washington Nationals team, any leftover from the Expos era, whether they are players or management?

2-What so good about Bryce Harper? 19-year-old playing every day?! Who would you compare him to?

3-If you have to point your finger, who will you blame for the current Jays' mediocrity? AA's bad assessment of the AL East state? Farrell's lack of experience? Lack of leadership/maturity amongst players? It seems like they lost something from last year.

4-When JP was in charge, he tried to trade Rios for either Lincecum or Cain. I think he would still be around if he were able to get that done, agree? Was this rumour real or not? Supposed Rios did live up to his potential (5 tools), would you still make that trade -- an all-star fielder for an all-star pitcher?

5-What is so good about Buster Posey? Is our d'Arnaud as good? How can he earn respect of his pitchers being so young? And batting cleanup too? He is no I-Rod, no?

Thomas Lam, Richmond Hill

A-I can relate to your curiosity in that first question about any leftover Expos from '04 when the franchise left Canada. When the Nats were in Toronto this week, I was looking to find out exactly the answer to that query, because in my own mind, I don't really connect the Nats with Montreal any more. It's a total disconnect. In fact when I did a preview of the Nats series I forgot they were ever the Expos. I always find it strange whenever they honour an Expos star like Andre Dawson on the field.

There are just three Expos connections that I could find: Rosie the clubhouse manager, who started with the Expos in the '90s. John Dever the P.R. director who replaced P.J. Loyello, now a v-p with the Miami Marlins, who had replaced me back in '95. F.P. Santangelo is a TV broadcaster and used to be a terrific utility man with the Expos in the '90s before moving on to the Giants.

What is so good about Bryce Harper? Damn, he's good. I was really looking not to like him, to walk in the Nats clubhouse and see this arrogant, punk kid walking around like he owned the place. I wanted to  dislike him after the SI cover at 16 years old, after the GQ interview, brief as it was, plus the fact that I was managing players his age, with my rep team in Oakville a year ago and could have used him on my team when the umpires screwed us out of a championship trophy in Michigan at the All-American Classic in June. But after seeing him in the Nats clubhouse treat the environment and the people around him with respect and after watching him play for three games, I think I'm a fan. He is going to be good for the game as long as he stays healthy.

Harper hit two ground balls so hard they accelerated past Kelly Johnson at second base for singles. His home run to centre off the “c” on their huge banner gave Blackberry an unexpected hard drive. In Game 2, with Lawrie stealing and not slowing down, Harper fielded a one-hop single in right and almost threw him out at third base. Then there was the drag bunt single that undressed Edwin at first base as he tried to field and tag in one motion ending up on his back in foul territory with the ball bouncing harmlessly away. That was the play that made me think Harper as Mickey Mantle. I saw Mantle play at the tail end of his career and that drag bunt was one of his signature plays. Harper has said that the 34 on his jersey is his 3+4=7 tribute to the Mick.

For Question 3, I blame the Jays' current mediocrity as an extension of last year's mediocrity when they finished 81-81. I blame the fact that AA came up short on the search for a veteran third starter, trying hard for Mat Latos and not so hard on Gio Gonzalez and coming up short in terms of satisfying the other teams' demands. He would have had to give up major-league ready talent for either guy and he felt that would be spinning his major-league wheels.

4-Yes, the conversations that Ricciardi had with the Giants for a starter were very real. But it was more a fishing expedition towards Brian Sabean with Alex Rios as the bait and when Lincecum ended up winning a Cy Young, the story became that the Jays could have had Lincecum for Rios, which is not quite true. Discussions between the Jays and Giants were ongoing and, at the time, Rios was at his trading peak. But there were many Giants names in the discussion that included Lincecum and Cain. The feeling was that the Giants, once discussions got more serious, would substitute other names in the mix to try and secure Rios. But it makes a good story.

5-Man you have a lot of questions. Buster Posey to me, if the Giants make the post-season, should be given serious NL MVP consideration. He's a rookie in '10 and they go to the World Series. He's hurt in '11 and they are awful. He's back healthy and they're in playoff position. Not much else needs to be said.  As for d'Arnaud, the past two seasons at New Hampshire and Vegas he has started slowly and come on strong offensively. Behind the plate, he is a sponge, soaking up information and using it correctly. His arm is strong enough and his footwork on throws is solid. There's only one Pudge – actually two, in Ivan Rodriguez and Carlton Fisk. But the good thing for d'Arnaud is that Posey proved that a team can win with a rookie catcher behind the plate.      

Q-Richard,

Maybe you can explain AA's thinking... I can understand wanting to give Cooper an extended audition...but keeping McCoy over Gomes seems to go the other way. Rajai over Vladdy still feels strange to me, and I really don't understand keeping Omar at .215 rather than bringing up a SS/2nd base of the future. We seem to be rebuilding, sorta, kinda, but not really! What's going on?

Peter Thomson, Elizabeth City, NC

A-”Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Those are the immortal words of the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy discovers that the Wiz ain't so big and smart as he likes to let on. Such might be the case with AA as he manipulates his roster through the middle of a disappointing stretch. Let's go down the list of players that you mention:

Cooper is not being given an extended audition. He is keeping someone else's seat warm and filling in for a stalled Adam Lind and a departed Eric Thames.

The Gomes demotion was simple. They needed his versatility for the games in National League parks. They used the 10-day rule twice (a player can't be recalled for 10 days after he is optioned except in the case of replacing an injured player). The first time they sent Gomes to Vegas 12 days before they headed to their first NL park and recalled him 10 days later. The second time they saw that Morrow would likely have to go on the DL, so they sent Gomes to Vegas and recalled Aaron Laffey and Evan Crawford. Gomes went and hid out at the SkyDome Hotel for 24 hours and then miraculously re-appeared on the roster replacing Morrow (15-day DL). He lost Airline points but got some extra Marriott points. The Gomes demotions are more about rules than merit.

Vlad screwed up the best-laid plans. His impatience in terms of waiting until the Jays' interleague trips were over cost Vlad a chance with the Jays. It will be interesting to see if he gets a major-league job before June 25, the date the Jays head to Boston after the interleague ends. The Tigers might be a good landing spot, since Dave Dombrowski was the GM when he signed in MTL.

Q-Hey Griff,

So now that the Jays season is over, who do they trade for prospects? I'm thinking anyone on a one-year deal, like Johnson, Oliver, Encarnacion, etc. Also CoCo if anyone bites (the number of GMs that believe in former closers is incredible), but I'm thinking he'd have to be waived. Though you could consider using him as an innings eater to save our young arms and get us a higher draft pick.

Rob B., Oshawa

A-The moment has not arrived yet, but there might come a time this season when the fan base needs a boost in order to remain the fan base.

In that case, if the Jays spiral out of the race in the next month look for any veteran on a one-year deal to be offered in trade to a legit contender. Darren Oliver is the kind of talent that contending teams are looking for down the stretch. Luis Perez and Evan Crawford can fill that LH relief role. If Johnson is traded, Hechavarria could begin his MLB career. I would not trade Edwin. I think AA wants him back but because of his injury history is not interested in negotiating during the season. As for CoCo Cordero, I love the guy and he has not been as bad as fans think. There is a mob mentality out there and all it takes is a groundswell of anti-CoCo crisping on platforms like the Wilner Show and the torches are lit and the pitchforks raised. “Bring me the head of Francisco Cordero!!” There is no doubt the next generation is pushing hard at Vegas.

Q-Hi, Richard.

What really happened with Guerrero? Is this good, bad or insignificant?

Chris M., Collingwood

A-It's insignificant, followed by bad. There would have been no problem for me in seeing him get a shot with the Jays. The guy can hit and the buzz would have been good for us in the media. See my blog earlier in the week for a full view on his departure.

Q-Hi Richard:

Although the Jays are still in tight contention for a wild-card, one gets the ominous feeling from watching them the past three weeks that their fortunes are on the decline. I'm not sure with an under-performing Romero and Drabek, injuries to Morrow and Santos, with only Hutchinson really performing as expected or better, this staff can really contend. We also have question marks at 1B/DH (bye bye Vladdy) and LF which remain unanswered. How do you envision Anthopoulos addressing these issues over both the short- (deadline) and long-term (end of season)?

Brian Campbell, Ottawa

A-I'm believing now that every time the Jays starter warms up at the Rogers Centre, they should pipe in over the sound system the theme music from Jaws.

“Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the mound.”

In the last stretch of games there was Betemit's line drive off Morrow, Aviles's line drive off Alvarez, Morrow's stabbing pain in the left oblique that led him to the DL and Drabek's popping in his elbow, making him sound much like the  Black Knight defending the bridge in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “It's just a flesh wound!”  

Hutchison is performing well but he is on a 150-inning count. As for the other issues and the end of the season, I believe that whenever it is the Jays feel they are no longer in wild-card contention that the clock will start on the future stars like Hechavarria and Gose. The Jays need to know.

Q-Howdy Richard,

As much as I hate to see Morrow out for an extended period of time the curious conspiracy theorist in me is intrigued by the reaction of Ownership and Management in the next coming days and weeks. To me it seems like two roads can be taken, you ramp up any plans of bringing in Major league talent to the roster in order to stay competitive in the AL East Race or you start preparing your talking points for the end of the season along the lines of 'we battled inconsistency all year and the Morrow injury really put us back....yadda yadda, etc etc.'

My point being it is one thing to pass on a talent like Prince Fielder this past offseason when the asking price turned out to be understandably unreasonable but it is quite another to pass on pursuing pitching talent like Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, and/or Wandy Rodriguez when your team is above .500 and 4 games out of first place in the standings midseason.

 Do you think this situation will lead to some insight into the collective minds of management and Rogers or am I reading too much into it? Getting back to my inner conspiracy theorist, If ownership resembled a Mark Cuban, Maverick type, who runs his team with a passion to win, we think we know what path would be taken while an owner constantly checking balance sheets and quarterly profit margins they might see this as just the excuse they need not to take on salary to stay competitive.

Your thoughts? 

Derek from the East Coast

Derek Andrews, Fredericton

A-I don't believe the Jays will give up on this year til the mathematics dictate. As such, I can see them making a move for a starting pitcher before the middle of July, since they have injuries and Hutchison on an innings-limit. It would be a short-term acquisition with long-term possibilities. But after that, in August I can see the Jays throwing veteran one-year contracts overboard and bringing up their future core players to give them a better idea what they have to do in the off-season. If Hechavarria is a player, they may not need in '13 to go out and acquire a second baseman., If Gose is a player for the moment, they may not need to go out and find a leadoff man. The big question becomes behind the plate. 

Q-Hi Richard,

I'm really beginning to wonder the authenticity in Paul Beeston's statement that he expects the Blue Jays to make the playoffs at least three times over the next five years. The fact of the matter is that it is becoming quite clear that Rogers is not willing to make the commitment to make this team a contender. Take for instance the Blue Jays silly stance on the fact that they will not go beyond their own self imposed player value. Because of this, they did not trade for market value for Mat Latos. They will not sign free agents beyond 5 years, and hence the loss of Prince Fielder. They will not go beyond their own value on signing international free agents and thus have lost out on Aroldis Chapman and Yu Darvish. Imagine if Rogers had opened up their vault, and in a perfect world added Fielder, Darvish, and Chapman to this year's roster. All the cost would have been is money, and in each case, the Jays could have had all three. The irony of it all is that all these three players would have fit the exact needs of the current Blue Jays roster: a power hitting first baseman, a starting pitcher, and an elite closer.

I've always felt that the biggest curse to Blue Jays fans is the success of Tampa Bay Rays. Since they have shown that they can win on a very tight budget, I begin to wonder if Rogers is thinking the same thing, and will continue to rein in their millions of Rogers customers dollars.

Zaki Ameen, Milton

A-The Latos situation is interesting. The Jays had a nice package of prospects on the table for San Diego, but the Padres pulled the trigger on the Reds deal without getting back to AA. The difference was that they knew all Anthopoulos had to offer was excellent prospects that were still at low Class-A and the Reds had players ready for the 40-man roster and guys that could play right now. It doesn't seem to have affected in a positive manner the Padres standings in the standings, but if the Jays had to give up current MLB talent for Latos, they felt it would not be something they could afford or wanted to do.

The rest of the points you make – Fielder would never have come here, even with the ability to go beyond five years, Chapman would have been nice and I think the Jays made a mistake on Darvish by not competing hard. But, really, most major-league teams' fan bases could have the same complaint about their own ownership. If the Jays do nothing to add a player before July 31, send me another question. I may have changed my mind. Maybe all Rogers want from the Jays is “wireless content.”

Q-Jays fan, temporarily living in Chicago for the summer.


 What's the latest on Santos??

Omair Rana, Chicago

A-Sergio Santos started throwing from a mound on Monday June 4. He threw again on Wednesday and Friday that week, but suffered a setback and had to take a step backwards and has not thrown since. He is still working out cardio and strength, but will resume from Square 1 when his shoulder settles down. That's not a good report, but the Jays are still putting up a brave front. No timetable.  

Q-The Blue Jays have a pretty good team this year, is the rest of the league afraid there might be a repeat of the 1992-93, with the all bad calls against the Jays, are the umpires making sure that does not happen?

Shirley McArthure, Niagara Falls

A-There does not need to be a conspiracy of the men in blue. The umpires are just relying on their own short-tempered, elephant-like memory of Jays players reacting to calls. Do you think the Jays being in a World Series would be any worse than Tampa or Florida?

Q-When will Farrell pull the plug on Cordero? He's had a great career, but he's just not effective now. Yet Farrell has consistently gone to Cordero over Frasor in important situations. Cordero made sense when Santos first went down. But we've now seen that he doesn't have it anymore. Do you agree that Cordero should be moved down the depth chart? Personally, I'd consider cutting him loose and bringing up a kid. I was at one of the Boston games and the whole section groaned when Cordero got up in the bullpen. The natives are getting restless.

Kevin Siena, Toronto

A-Cordero's pitching has not been as bad as his record – as long as he stays out of the closing role. I recall a game where he gave up four hits in an inning. The first three were groundballs that found holes. The last one was a double off the wall. That's the one fans remember. Cordero clearly will be available in the final three months for any team that wants him. I think from what I've seen that he and Jason Frasor are pretty much interchangeable. There is no upside to cutting him loose. I think it's best to wait for some kind of an offer that will get some minor-league depth player in return.

Q-Hey Richard,

I wanted to get your thoughts on Wandy Rodriguez. I personally think he would be a great fit as a No. 3 starter behind Romero and Morrow. He's a guy who can give you close to 200 IP, hasn't had an ERA over 3.60 in the last 5 seasons and is under team control through 2014. He will most likely be available come trade deadline day if he's not traded before then. What do you think the Jays would have to give up for him? In addition, what are some other names Jays fans should keep their eye on leading up to the July 31st trade deadline as a potential starting pitcher? Finally, IF they do manage to bring in another starter who do you think gets sent down/moved to the pen? Thanks! Keep up the great work!

Josh Cymbalista, Thornhill

A-To me, I always thought that Rodriguez would have been a good offseason acquisition, but I don't think he's a No. 3 starter on a winning team. He'd be a solid No. 4 and if the Jays made a pitch for him at the deadline, he would give them a No. 4 that is under control through 2013 which is the final season of a three-year, $34-million deal, with another option for 2014. They could decide next winter to keep him or trade him. The Astros need young talent. The Jays have plenty of that. If it's not Rodriguez, I think the price for Ryan Dempster would be more reasonable than for Matt Garza. From the Brewers, Zack Greinke could be a nice short-term piece with time to make a long-term decision. The Jays and Brewers have had a good trading relationship, but players have a say in where they go. As for who goes to the pen, there is the innings-limit for Hutchison, plus the recent injuries to consider.   

Q-Hi Richard,

I enjoy the mailbag. It is my understanding that there are pay restrictions in place for the first year of a minor-league contract but after that the system is open. If this is correct, and with the new penalties in place for teams that exceed the MLB draft signing bonus, is there any indication that the Blue Jays or other teams may try to entice those hard-to-sign draft picks (like Anthony Alford) by paying them on the back end by offering rich minor league contracts.

Aaron Asee, Toronto

A-I'm pretty sure that MLB also monitors minor-league contracts and it would be pretty transparent if all of a sudden a second-year pro is pulling in a million bucks. What I worry about is that if GMs already were able to figure out how to beat the new system by drafting college seniors that are grateful just for the opportunity to play a year or two of A-ball, then they may have already figured out a way to beat the system in other ways that approximate the ideas that you suggest. Under the table?

Like the Scottish caddie at historic St. Andrew's who was asked by the  blustery American tourist whose bag he was on: “What do you call a Mulligan over here in Scotland.” He replied: “Cheating.”

Q-Dear Mr Griffin,

What do you make of the withering of Brian Jeroloman ? He is performing (?) atrociously at New Hampshire.
 And, why on earth did the Jays sign Koby Clemens, given the logjam of genuine first base prospects in AAA and AA?
 Thank you.

Thea Varley, 
Toronto

A-Jeroloman's high point and his low point crashed together in Toronto in August-September 2011. The Suffern, N.Y., native late in '11 was called up to the major leagues (high point) and never got in a game (low point). Meanwhile, the tsunami of Jays' catching prospects had formed a tidal wave of talent on the horizon that has caught up to and swept over the 27-year-old who was once considered a prime Jays' major-league prospect. There is Arencibia, d'Arnaud, Carlos Perez, Yan Gomes and when A.J. Jimenez went down earlier in the year, they brought Sean Ochinko up to Double-A to catch.

As for Koby Clemens, he was added to the minor league ranks as a favour from Paul Beeston to Roger Clemens, who was with the Jays in '97-'98, surprising the world by choosing the Jays as his free-agency landing spot. Clemens and Beeston are friends. The Koby experiment seemed like it was coming to an end at spring training when it looked like there might not be a spot for him at any level, but injuries and the fact that he has some tools have kept him in the system.  

Q-Greetings Richard,

Yesterday, my wife and I, retirees, watched the Jays nose under the .500 water line for the first time, and I suspect this bunch of deck chair shufflers will accelerate to the bottom, on merit.

We went to watch Strasburg pitch in any event, knowing he'd bury this weak Toronto bunch. 
It was a lovely sunny day, at least, and the beer (at $10 !) was cold. 
On two occasions we tried to buy food: the lineup for all food was approximately 15 minutes long, even during play, so we contented ourselves with the beer. Only one harried server worked each food counter. Isn't this mediocre organization smart enough to anticipate more customers on a day when the opposing pitcher is named Strasburg?

Must we be subjected to ear-piercing, gawd-awful "music" between each batter? Is the younger generation that bored? Do we require a command to "Make Noise" from the scoreboard? Our ears are still ringing. Doesn't this club need to create premium seating (not club boxes) for fans who want to watch the game away from the diaper changers (yes!), fans who arrive in the third inning, and the constant movement to the concession stands by the children and the grossly obese?
 Aren't we tired of AA's flanneling speeches that admit nothing? 
Doesn't he need to (quickly as possible ) package the likes of Drabek, Arencibia, Escobar, etc. onto another dull-witted organization? 
Are these enough questions?

 Thank You,

Selby Martin, Toronto

A-I hope the Blue Jays are paying attention. The music is one thing that is not going to change. Hey dude, the Big Band Era is over. Hip-hop rules.

 

Richard Griffin’s Bullpen: Why Joey Votto is baseball’s best hitter

The most intriguing Jays moment of the week may have come on Thursday morning in Chicago. Veteran infielder Omar Vizquel was asked to do an interview, live on the field, prior to the White Sox day-game series finale with MLB Network and the irreverent Kevin Millar.

After leading Omar on a fast-paced entertaining trip down memory lane with some great video of his early years, some of his more spectacular defensive plays, a rating of great plays by Asdrubal Cabrera and John McDonald from the past week, his home backyard full of exotic animals including kangaroos and his personal choice of colourful wardrobe and underwear, the interview got serious.

With a clubhouse full of mesmerized young Jays teammates, led by third baseman Brett Lawrie, RHP Brandon Morrow and others gathered around the TV hanging on every word of the veteran with a Hall-of-Fame resume, someone Lawrie half-jokingly labelled and Tweeted afterwards as “the most interesting man in the world” Millar asked Vizquel to name the shortstops that may have been handed down the torch of defensive excellence.

Vizquel thought about it, then started with Cabrera from the Indians, Alcides Escobar of the Royals and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers. Glaringly being left off of Omar the outmaker's list of current shortstop excellence was his current teammate Yunel Escobar, whose reputation locally is as one of the game's best defenders. Vizquel was brought in to help mentor Yunel. He probably just forgot.

The Jays’ week consisted of a six-game, seven-day road trip to Chicago and Atlanta that ended with a 3-3 record. Following an off-day Monday, the Jays won two of three against the White Sox and dropped two of three to the Braves. Manager John Farrell made a major lineup decision on Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field, shifting Lawrie and Colby Rasmus to the 1-2 slots in the batting order.

The lineup changes, moving Kelly Johnson and Escobar to more comfortable middle of the order RBI spots, worked out immediately, with Lawrie and Rasmus combining for eight hits in a Tuesday win over the Sox. Their contributions slowly declined as the week went on, hitting rock bottom Friday and Saturday, in losses to the Braves. But the two men at the top bounced back Sunday.

The Jays' pitching highlight of the week was Morrow's two-hit complete game against the Chisox on Wednesday. The dynamic right-hander was aided in his cause of going the distance by outfielder Rajai Davis crushing a two-run homer to left in the ninth. The extra run buffer allowed Morrow to complete the job, despite letting two runners reach base before retiring the side. Morrow now has three complete games and three shutouts. Does Morrow deserve an all-star nod? Yes.  

In Atlanta, the Jays continued their recent history of ineptitude at Turner Field, running the losing streak to eight games before salvaging the series finale on Sunday. Staff ace Ricky Romero was unable to go five innings, but Carlos Villanueva picked up the win in long relief.

Congratulations to SS Nicholas Lovullo, selected by the Jays in the 38th round of the June draft out of Newbury Park High School in California. One of the smaller high school programs in Cali, Newbury Park reached the state championships. Lovullo, the son of Jays' first-base CCH Torey Lovullo, has signed a letter of intent to attend Holly Cross College in the fall.

MLB POWER RANKINGS

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

Mattingly will make people forget Tommy Lasorda...and that's good

2. New York Yankees

Finding their highly-paid rhythm without Mariano and Pineda

3. Texas Rangers

As Hamilton goes so go the Rangers. Look forward to Oswalt debut

4. Washington Nationals

If you keep finishing last for so long, it eventually pays off

5. Tampa Bay Rays

Both Rays and Nats building dynasties upon past failures

6. Atlanta Braves

Will need to make sure bullpen stays fresh to avoid collapse

7. San Francisco Giants

Getting Posey back healthy brings them back to '10 WS team

8. Chicago White Sox

Ventura, Mattingly, Matheny. Who needs managerial experience?

9. Cincinnati Reds

Fab Votto brings day-by-day hitting clinic to teammates

10. Los Angeles Angels

El Hombre was right. Albert Pujols does not deserve that designation

11. Baltimore Orioles

Can a bird have Achilles heel? If so, with O's it's still pitching

12. New York Mets

This is unbelievable renaissance because Collins had been horrible manager

13. Miami Marlins

New team name, new stadium, new stars, same old Ozzie — minus Twitter

14. Cleveland Indians

Tribe are the O's of the AL Central. Not as good as they threaten to be

15. Boston Red Sox

Toughest division in the thick of it all despite train wreck DL

16. St. Louis Cardinals

Sans Albert, sans Berkman, but avec Freese and Beltran

17. Toronto Blue Jays

All of a sudden it's a two-man show with Romero and Morrow

18. Detroit Tigers

Fielder and Cabrera and still under .500. How is that possible?

19. Philadelphia Phillies

Has Doc's dogged work ethic and unbelievable workload caught up

20. Pittsburgh Pirates

Say what!!!!!!

21. Seattle Mariners

It's a slow process but this offence is going to be good

22. Arizona Diamondbacks

Last year's playoff run may have been a mirage. Up-Hill climb

23. Oakland A's

Billy Beane's big dream continues. To win an Academy Award

24. Minnesota Twins

The Twins can never be held down for long because they play it right

25. Milwaukee Brewers

You knew this was going to happen losing Fielder. Changes at deadline?

26. Kansas City Royals

These guys were supposed to be surprise contenders. Surprise!! No

27. Houston Astros

Preparing to be patsies next year in AL West by improving slightly now

28. Colorado Rockies

Manager Tracy likes to climb his mountains late in the season

29. San Diego Padres

Beautiful park, beautiful city, beautiful weather, should be better team

30. Chicago Cubs

Theo Epstein is a genius. Discuss.

THE ESSAY: BASEBALL’S BEST HITTER IS JOEY VOTTO

He may never win the Triple Crown. He may not win a World Series ring. But it says here that Etobicoke native, 28-year-old, Joey Votto may be the best pure hitter in baseball.

The Cincinnati Reds first baseman is so good that he could be handicapped by his own rules with narrowed foul lines drawn in just for him, maybe just right-centre to left-centre field, and still he would bat .300.

Votto, by the power of his own hard work as a youngster and young pro, may have already taken more batting practice swings than any Canadian-born hitter in history. Votto is driven to excel and has. In a Sports Illustrated story published earlier this month renowned writer Tom Verducci pointed out some stunning facts:

1. Votto has not popped up to the infield all season. In fact, he has popped out to the infield only three times over the past four seasons. Crazy.

2. The average NL hitter bats .198 when he is behind in the count. Votto hits .300 when he is behind in the count.

3. Votto has pulled a ball foul into the stands only once in his entire major league career. “Sure, I remember it,” he said. “It was my rookie year. It wasn't that deep — maybe 20, 30 feet foul. I haven't hit a long home run foul in my whole career.”

Votto does not even worry about foul lines because he allows pitches to get deeper into his strike zone before crushing them, His patience, plate discipline and consistency are greater than perhaps any other current major leaguer. In addition to that technical prowess, the great Canadian hitter plays in the Great American Ballpark, a perfect venue for his powerful alley-to-alley power stroke.

Maybe that’s why with free agency looming after the 2013 season, Votto was willing to sign so easily an extension with the Reds, for a stunning 10-years, $225-million with an option for 2024 that would likely keep him in Cincinnati the rest of his career.

If healthy Votto is Hall-of-Fame bound.

Votto, through Sunday, had 48 walks and 48 strikeouts, hitting .362, with 26 doubles, 10 homers, 38 RBIs and an OPS of 1.127. At 28, Votto is entering his prime. That's scary. To this point, Larry Walker is the best Canadian hitter ever. Check back with us in 10 years. This guy is good.         

THE RANT: JUNE DRAFT CHANGES ARE A JOKE

I used to be a big fan, an admirer of clever manipulators of the major-league June draft, of imaginative GMs that knew how to take advantage of the rules. The draft seemed a perfect balance for building small market franchises, combatting the vagaries of six-year major-league free-agency, which was forever dominated by the same half-dozen large market teams, led by the damn Yankees.

But this year's re-structuring of the MLB June draft under the new CBA has been a bad joke. The first 10 rounds, the first 366 selections, were assigned precise dollar numbers. Each franchise had its own total bonus number depending on draft position. From there, it got more ridiculous.

New rules? If you signed any player among your first 10 rounders for, say, just one U.S. dollar, you could then carry over the remainder of MLB's slotted amount to the rest of your top 10 choices. But if you failed to sign said player, you lost that total cash amount. Stupid rule No. 1.

There's more dumbness. In Rounds 11-40 the maximum MLB bonus for any player is $100,000. Anything over that counts against you as a penalty that if exceeded, cumulatively, for this year, would include a 75-100-percent cash punishments and potential loss of draft choices next year. That's for going over, but if you strong-armed, signing your kids for under $100,000, hey, good on you. Teams, with scouts sitting in a prospect's living room, family and advisors close by, can play hardball with picks 11-40, at a mandated 100 grand, shrug and say, “Dem's da rules.” Ridiculous rule No. 2.      

Clearly, major league owners wanted to strictly control costs and included this amateur rule in the Collective Bargaining Agreement last October as an easily traded-off bargaining chip since all it does is cost money to young prospects — who are not yet union members and the majority of whom will never be. It was an easy call for the union to five away amateur player bargaining power.

So MLB wanted to bring all teams into line, without rogue GMs ruining the human game of draft monopoly by actually trying to compete and win against the big-market behemoths. The big markets think they have won. The politically correct, politically savvy Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos claims that all GMs were consulted on the draft changes. I respect Alex, but that is total ball crap.

More likely is that someone from the Commissioner's Office may have stuck his head through the door last November or at an earlier GM's meeting and said, “Hey guys, we're putting a slotting cap on the draft and these are the rules. Just so you know. If you have any comments, email them.”

The die was cast unilaterally. Big money always talks. There is no way that Anthopoulos and what constitutes the majority now comprised of young, imaginative, energetic GMs would have approved the new rules.

But unfortunately for Bud Selig and his unindicted co-conspirators that made this decision, boys will be boys and GM rogues will be rogues. It turns out Anthopoulos is both a boy and a rogue. I admire AA a little less after this draft. The whole concept sucks, but fact is he plays by the rules.

The Jays had 14 picks in the first 10 rounds. The first seven were guys that can become major leaguers, the second seven were marginal college players, all of them college seniors with limited options, that were just happy to be there. The 10th round pick out of the Naval Academy, Alex Azor, signed for $1,000 and told MLB.com that he would have signed for a hot dog. The fourth rounder, Tucker Donahue from Stetson, signed for less than $10,000. Ridiculous.

It used to be teams took a chance to find diamonds in the rough later on in the draft that nobody else thought they could sign and, via personality and imagination, were able to re-stock the system. Now teams are looking for grateful fringy seniors in Rds. 4-10 to accumulate a war-chest of cash for players that actually have a chance to make a MLB impact. The spirit of the draft is out the window.

Because of those undeserved, mostly wide-eyed grateful picks in rounds 4-10, the Jays were able to bank a huge surplus to overpay their top seven picks. It's smart, but it sucks for the intent of the draft, which is parity. Because of the move to draft undeserving prospects — not just by the Jays — guys like Canadian lefthander Ryan Kellogg were pushed down as far as the 12th round. Stupid!

Baseball should be embarrassed by the new rules. I never thought I would say it, because I was a member of management from 1973-95, but much-hated uber-agent Scott Boras is right. Yikes, I said it.

What had been the one aspect of the draft that levelled the playing field for small and medium market franchises was that draft choices had nowhere else to go once selected and the money that was  required to throw at them was always far less than for established, traditional six-year free agents.

That admiration I have for clever drafts goes back to my Expos days when brilliant, then-scouting director Gary Hughes convinced Delaware native Delino DeShields to give up a basketball scholarship to nearby Villanova, a deal inked in stone with iconic coach Rollie Massimino, choosing instead to play baseball as a raw high school shortstop. DeShields made an Expos impact at second base and was eventually traded to the Dodgers for future Hall-of-Famer Pedro Martinez.

Hughes also selected Cleveland St. baseketball star Tyrone Kingwood who had vitually zero certifiable major-league skills at the time. But he was a superb athlete. One worked out. One didn't. But the admiration was in the effort and imagination. Glory days.

But, of course, that was under the old guidelines, where in a still single-digit draft round or with a sandwich pick awarded from an unsigned Type A or B free agent you could choose a studly high-school player either from another sport or with college ambitions that nobody felt was sign-able and convince him his best avenue to stardom was with your team, rather than University of Whatever.

That's exactly what the Jays did in 2010. They took a safe, sure thing, a college kid with their own pick, Deck McGuire, then with compensation picks for Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas selected high school pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, who have both become cornerstone pitching prospects for the young Jays moving forward.  That wouldn't happen anymore.

That's also what the Jays did in 2011. They took a first-round chance with Tyler Beede, a young right-handed pitcher committed to Vanderbilt. But in case they couldn't sign him, they protected themselves with Daniel Norris, the best high school left-hander available in the second round using the money saved from not signing Beede to secure Norris. Smart, plus the Jays received another pick for Beede, 22nd overall this year, with which they selected Duke University reliever Marcus Stroman.     

The new rules suck. Hopefully there is an escape clause for baseball, a chance for adjustment before the next CBA is negotiated. This entire drafting process sucked. Those who invented the new rules erred badly. There were 61 college seniors selected, most were manipulated and undeserving of their ranking but were used to sign other high picks their saved money could secure.

The deadline for signing drafted players is July 13. It will be interesting to see the mess that's left, the players that are left when the dust settles.     

AL ROUNDUP

The O's in the 21st round of the June draft selected OF Julien Service, from Sinclair High School in Whitby. What makes this mid-round pick interesting is that the O's previously had no Canadian scouts until January, hiring Tyler Moe, a former Brantford Red Sox third baseman and one time teammate of Brewers closer John Axford.

If Service agrees to terms, it will be Moe's first signing and the Orioles first Canadian selection since former Expos' GM Dan Duquette took charge in Baltimore. The O's hope to welcome 2B Brian Roberts back to the active roster Tuesday, batting leadoff against the Pirates.

Roberts had suffered a concussion last May 16 and has not played a major-league game since. He has been rehabbing at Triple-A Norfolk. Recall that Jays 2B Aaron Hill was concussed on May 29, 2008, running into shortstop David Eckstein's elbow trying to make a catch in short centrefield in Oakland. He missed the remainder of the season, returning for Opening Day, '09...

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is not winning friends and influencing people in his comeback season.

The positive thinking that Valentine has displayed is just that he's positive the umpires are missing calls for his pitchers in the Nats weekend sweep at Fenway. The irascible skipper was ejected by home plate umpire Alan Porter on Sunday after a close pitch not called strike three by closer Alfredo Aceves was followed up by a game-winning double.

“Alfredo struck the guy out on a pitch that the whole ball is on the plate and he calls it a ball," Valentine said. "Then he hits an RBI. I've got guys busting their butt, battling their butt off. It's not right. Good umpires had a real bad series this series — a real bad series — and it went one way. There should be a review.”

Bobby V was ejected during Dustin Pedroia’s final at-bat of the game. He will be fined. The bad news for the Sox is that the players are following the lead of their manager and they won't win. The men in blue always have the final word...

The Yankees injury that has been overshadowed by the losses of Mariano Rivera and Michael Pineda has been Brett Gardner. The news only got worse. Gardner, out since April 17, has been shut down again with left elbow woes. He will see Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday. Gardner is a good defender and his 49 stolen bases in 2011 led the league...

The fact that the Rays are winning games and in first place in the toughest division in baseball is amazing, considering the lineup of retreads and never-will-bes they send out on a daily basis.

SS Elliot Johnson? INF Sean Rodriguez? 2B Will Rhymes? 3B Drew Sutton?

The real key to the Rays success is manager Joe Maddon. He is in the lead to defend his manager-of-the-year title. Good news for the Rays is that 3B Evan Longoria is headed out on rehab option and could be back within 10 days...

White Sox manager Robin Ventura is proving, along with Mike Matheny of the Cards and Don Mattingly of the Dodgers, that prior managerial experience may be overrated and that a solid baseball mind is more important. Sox GM Kenny Williams makes sure that he emphasizes the contributions of his new manager in settling the clubhouse. Subtle shot at his former guy Ozzie Guillen? Well, yeah.

The Sox will try DH Adam Dunn in left field when the Sox travel for their NL park inter-league experience. The Sox are being critiqued in local papers for not signing Brandon Inge when he was released by the Tigers, or some other experienced third baseman, now choosing to go with second baseman Orlando Hudson at the hot corner. But when Hudson was working his way up to the Jays, then-scouting director Tim Wilken told me he was actually a better defensive third baseman when they were scouting him.

Indians LF Johnny Damon is struggling in his quest to reach 3,000 career hits. Damon is 258 hits shy of the magic number, but is hitting .190 in 29 games since joining the Tribe. He has 13 walks and 12 strikeouts. Damon would likely need this and two more major league seasons with regular at-bats to reach 3,000. He can still play a little left field, but his chances seem slim. Jays' future DH Vlad Guerrero has emphasized his desire for 51 more homers to reach 500. Vlad's chances are slimmer...

The Tigers were expected to run away and hide from the rest of the AL Central after signing Prince Fielder and bolstering the bullpen with veterans. But the tone was set early, even though they swept the opening series Jose Valverde struggled to close out wins. That has continued, but Valverde has bounced back from a back strain to pitch nine good games in a row, with a win, five saves and one run allowed. Ace Justin Verlander has been mortal and catcher Alex Avila has been on the DL since June 6.

Controversy of a different sort hit the Royals camp this week. After a winning effort, left-hander Bruce Chen was doing a TV interview in the dugout when catcher Humberto Quintero stepped in behind him and made a clearly offensive racist gesture, like the kind the Spanish national basketball team made in their team photo at the Beijing Olympics. Clearly he did not mean harm, but education is required...

NL ROUNDUP

Former Hall-of-Fame manager, Tommy Lasorda suffered a mild heart attack while in New York to represent the Dodgers at the June draft. Commissioner Bud Selig noticed Lasorda was a little out of sorts and insisted he go to the hospital. He was released mid-week and was able to catch a flight back to Los Angeles. Lasorda is also a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame in St. Marys, Ont., mostly on the basis of his 107-57 record over nine seasons with the Triple-A Montreal Royals...  

Future Hall-of-Fame third baseman Chipper Jones sounds like he regards Rome and Toronto much the same way. Jones was sent on a rehab assignment to Rome — no, just the one in Georgia — for what was supposed to be a three-day injury rehab. Instead, Rome got old in a day and he cajoled his way into the major-league lineup in time for Sunday's Jays game.

Okay, Jones didn't like Rome, but recall that during the World Baseball Classic, Chipper complained about having to play round one in Toronto, staying in his room when not at the ballpark. Sure it was March, but still, Chip, buy a winter coat and loosen up. He may go to Cooperstown, but he will never be invited into the Canadian Hall at St. Marys...

The Phils are in trouble. RHP Roy Halladay is still out with his right lat strain. He is expected to return some time after the all-star break and will not pitch in Toronto at the end of June. He was declared symptom-free on June 5. Given his history of quick return from injury, Doc may be back before the break. Physician heal thyself.

The Phillies have suffered seven walk-off losses and the amazing thing, working against manager Charlie Manuel is that in those seven losses, closer Jonathan Papelbon has not pitched at all. Many managers in a tie game on the road will use their closer, taking a chance to score in the top of the next inning. That's your best shot. Manuel trusts his deep pen — 0-7...  

It's not just the Jays that have had trouble closing games. Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, who had not allowed a run through June 7, blew his first save on Friday vs. the Tigers in a game the Reds won, then allowed two more runs on Sunday against Detroit, still regularly hitting 100 mph on the radar gun.

Chapman proved he's not a true closer by leaving the ballpark before the media was allowed in the clubhouse. Chapman's interpreter had no comment. The best closers in history have all been standup guys. Dennis Eckersley after Robbie Alomar's home run, after Kirk Gibson's home run. Tom Henke, Sergio Santos? They may not always do the job but they're always there answering questions in front of their locker after blowing a save. They use it as therapy, closure. They may be out there again in 24 hours...

Marlins' first baseman Gaby Sanchez was recalled Sunday from Triple-A-New Orleans. Wow. New Orleans and Miami? That's not a bad either-or for possible cities in which to play baseball. The most dramatic difference between Triple-A and the majors that I can recall was when the Pirates had their top farm team in Hawaii. Hmm! I'm getting recalled from Honolulu to Pittsburgh?? Yikes.   

Cubs' Canadian right-hander Ryan Dempster raised his record to 2-3 with a 2.31 ERA with a win over the Twins on Sunday. He's been a hard-luck story, but has won two in a row after benefitting from 18 runs in support.

“I had good command again,” Dempster said. “I was able to keep the ball at the fat part of the plate and just moved it around, changed speeds and made a lot of good pitches.” Dempster is decidedly on the trading block for president Theo Epstein by the July deadline and the Jays are among those teams that have inquired about the cost. That's just GM Alex Anthopoulos doing his “due diligence” but it would be a nice acquisition in a season that seems like it will be 81-85 wins for the Jays, as it is. Dempster is earning $14 million in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent.

The Jays will be visiting Milwaukee next week and the Brewers home magic has been non-existent.

After going 57-24 with Prince Fielder leading the offence at Miller Park, the Brew Crew is 16-17 at home and looking for answers. Closer John Axford, from Port Dover, is suffering the same fate as Valverde.

On Sunday, Axford entered with a four-run lead, recorded one out, allowed two runs and left with the bases loaded. The Brewers held on. Axford was forced to defend his honour on Twitter, which has a pack-of-wild-dingos mentality when it smells blood. Axford is best athlete in the Twitter-verse at answering his critics, deflecting criticism with humour and self-deprecation. The Brewers have a Canadian GM in Doug Melvin and assistant in Gord Ash and have tied Anthopoulos and the Jays with four Canadians selected in the June draft, the most of any MLB franchise.          

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL HISTORY

June 11, 1990 Nolan Ryan tosses his sixth career no-hitter, 5-0 over the A's. He's the first to throw no-hitters for three teams and in three decades...6/11/95 Rondell White of the Expos goes 6-for-6 in a 10-8 win over the Giants, hitting for the cycle...6/12/70 Dock Ellis of the Pirates blanks the Padres 2-0 while claiming he was high on acid. Ellis told High Times he woke up that day and thought it was Friday until his girlfriend showed him Saturday's paper. Dock walked eight and hit one and giggled in the seventh inning and pointed out to Dave Cash that he had a no-no going. Ah, those were the days...6/13/03 Roger Clemens with the Yankees wins his 300th game in an interleague game in St. Louis, although he now claims it was his wife Debbie on the mound that day...6/15/28 Ty Cobb steals home for the 50th and final time in his career, this on the front end of a triple steal, The Georgia Peach never met a catcher he didn't spike...6/15/38 Johnny VanderMeer of the Reds tosses a second straight no-hitter, a feat that has never been duplicated. It should be noted it was the first ever night game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and a new experience for hitters with 60-watt bulbs...6/16/09 Jim Thorpe make his pro pitching debut for Rocky Mount of the Eastern Carolina League. That eventually cost the greatest athlete in history his 1912 Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, in Stockholm Sweden. King Gustav in presenting the medal for the decathlon said to Thorpe, “You, sir are the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe is reported to have replied, “Thanks King.”

Birthdays this week: Ernie Whitt 60, Tony Castillo 55, Peekaboo Veach 160, Lance Parrish 56, Ron LeFlore 64, Manuel Lee 47.

 

When the Charleston River Dogs had a rain delay recently, comedian Bill Murray came to rescue.

 

MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP

AAA-Las Vegas (35-28)...The 51's beat Fresno 8-7 on Sunday. 1B Adam Lind was 4-for-5 with two doubles and raised his average to .405. C Travis D'Arnaud was 3-for-5 and is batting .332. SS Adeiny Hechavarria is amazingly tied with D'Arnaud for the club lead in RBIs with 41 and is hitting .324.

AA-New Hampshire (22-34)...The Fisher Cats are a disappointing 9-24 at home after losing to Bowie 6-5 on Sunday. 1B Mike McDade is the brightest offensive light batting .308. The biggest disappointment has been with back-to-back first round draft picks from 2009-10, RHP Chad Jenkins and RHP Deck McGuire who in 22 combined starts are 4-13 with a 6.68 ERA. 

A-Dunedin (41-20) ...The Jays on Sunday beat Clearwater 8-3 in front of 608 paid fans at the park formerly known as Grant Field. CF Jake Marisnick was 3-for-5 with a triple and two steals and is batting .268. LF Travis Snider was 4-for-5, hitting .400 after being activated from the Vegas DL. RHP John Stilson was the winner, running his record to 3-0, 2.82 ERA. LHP Sean Nolin is 7-0, 2.43 ERA. 

A-Lansing (54-19) ... The Lugnuts have one of the cooler nicknames in minor league ball and the best record in the Midwest League. The Lugnuts beat Lake County 4-1 on Sunday. LF Kevin Pillar was 2-for-3 and is batting .323 with 22 stolen bases. Pitching is the story at Lansing as RHP Aaron Sanchez leads the way with 5-0, 0.66 ERA, allowing 20 hits in 41 innings with 21 walks and 47 strikeouts.

ONE FOR THE ROAD

The past week took me with the Jays to Chicago, one of my fave road cities in baseball. The downtown area of Michigan Avenue from the lake with its concrete beach on the north to the Chicago River near the Tribune Building is fabulous for walking and shopping in the summertime. Great city. The Red Line gets you to U.S. Cellular Field from the Grand-State subway station in less than 30 minutes, one stop past Chicago's Chinatown. After the game there are plenty of late night stops with live jazz and late night menus serving well after 2:00 a.m. I only managed to try three of them. My favourite mis-spoken line of the week came on Wednesday at Mother's on Hubbard where the woman bartender cracked to another customer from north of the border: “I hear that the only two sports in Can-ay-dee-a are curling and hockey.” Can-ay-dee-a?? As close to being cool as Toronto as any city in North America, but it officially stays open muck later, which is civilized but tough with a 6:30 wakeup call.

Griffin: MLB Draft budget will level playing field in a bad way for Blue Jays

It's a brave new world for major league baseball's general managers inside the June draft.

When MLB announced its new collective bargaining agreement last fall, it included sweeping changes directed at levelling the playing field for the June entry draft of amateur players that begins with the televised first round, in Canada, on Sportsnet-1, live from Secaucus, N.J., on Monday at 7 p.m.

The two major changes instituted under baseball's new CBA were 1) in altering the previous draft-pick compensation procedure for losing Type A and B players to free agency under which teams could previously recoup amateur draft picks as compensation from the player's new, signing organization, and 2) in assigning a hard dollar figure attached to every draft choice through the first 10 rounds of the 40-round, three-day procedure.

PHOTOS: Blue Jays drafts through the years

The Houston Astros, for instance, in 2012 will have $7.2 million to spend on the first selection overall, their reward for finishing dead last in the standings a year ago. Meanwhile, the final amateur draft pick of the 10th round, No. 338 overall, will be made by the Phillies and is worth $125,000, according to the commissioner's office. 

After that, from the 11th to the 40th round, all picks may be paid a bonus of anywhere from $1 up to $100,000. Anything over the assigned slot numbers for any pick, in any round, will be tracked by major-league baseball with specific penalties for each percentage-point of overspending from the hard slot, ranging from fines to loss of future first-round picks.

Over the first 10 rounds, you may choose to sign a player for less than slot and transfer the difference in dollars to another prospect, but if you do not sign the player at all -- say a high school player chooses to go to college -- you lose that slot amount, every dollar of it.

For instance if the Astros drafted Richard Griffin with their second pick, and negotiated a $1,000 signing bonus, they could use the balance of the $1,258,700 assigned bonus to sweeten the pot for their first overall selection. If I refused to sign, they woiuld lose it all. 

According to Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos, the penalties are not worth defying slot amounts.

The bottom line is that all of these arbitrary changes that have been imposed affect high school and college kids that are not even union members but were thrown in as concessions traded off by the players' association as bargaining chips for something more in the immediate best interest of their current, card-carrying, dues-paying members.

Fair to the kids? No. But baseball now feels it has control of the process, catering to the many teams that don't like to spend and were being embarrassed and dragged reluctantly upward in handing out huge signing bonuses to teens, many of whom will never make it.

The new draft rules penalize aggressive organizations, like the Jays, that like to build a winner from within. Another arbitrary rule change is there are six new draft picks after the first round that will be assigned in a lottery of the 10 lowest-revenue teams.

Fair? Again, the answer is no. In some cases, small markets are undeniably small markets. In other cases, it may be a reward for marketing incompetence. Baseball would argue there is more parity under terms of the new draft, but unfortunately that parity often translates to mediocrity in terms of scouting effort.  

Why did baseball, under commissioner Bud Selig, press for these changes? The new rules serve to level the playing field for all MLB teams, removing the edge previously available to aggressive, imaginative organizations, willing to spend more for their grassroots scouting and for the right to sign 17-21 year-old kids. Some of these youngsters turn out to be diamonds in the rough, while other teams spend their money on the sure-thing of six-year, established free agents, in what has always been the lazy way to build a contender. 

Even Anthopoulos, who had masterfully manipulated the rules over the past two draft procedures in 2010-11 to re-stock the farm system -- especially with starting pitching -- is not sure how the new slotting system will affect his draft over the next three days.  

In 2010, Anthopoulos' first draft as GM, he had manipulated nine picks in the first three rounds, including eight of the top 93 selections. In '11, the Jays boasted eight draft choices in the first two rounds, including seven of the first 78 picks. If you consider that there are 30 teams in MLB that is a pretty good haul for one team. No more.

This year, the Jays select 17th, 22nd, 50th, 58th, 60th and 81st overall. The budget assigned them under the new agreement will total $8,830,800 for the first 10 rounds. That includes $2 million for the 17th selection,$1.8 million for the 22nd and $1 million for No. 50 overall. They will make five selections Monday, the first day of the draft. This year, as left over residue from the old draft rules, the Jays will still have a few extra picks, but next year they will be back on the same level playing field as everyone else. The fun is done.

Come back to thestar.com at 7 p.m. for a live blog of the MLB player draft.

The Blue Jays' sign-stealing controversy is back. In the same week that Men in Black 3 was released in theatres and dominated box office earnings, the baseball version, the Man in White sequel has made its green carpet return to the Rogers Centre.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the bleachers... The O's Wednesday loser in the series finale, a sweep by the Jays, right-hander Jason Hammel, brought up the possibility of Toronto's men in blue stealing signs in a none-too-subtle rambling post-game rant in the wake of a 4-1 defeat in which he gave up four solo home runs.

Remember, this is Jason Hammel, for goodness sake.

“I don't know,” a miffed Hammel said. “They were taking some pretty big hacks on my breaking stuff, too, which leads me to believe something else. It is what it is.”

It should be noted the four solo home runs by Edwin Encarnacion, Rajai Davis, Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus were all on fastballs. Nobody was on second base to even offer location and 17,754 were in the stands, not too many in centre field.

“I've got to get the ball down,” Hammel continued.
 “Honestly, with the fastball command, when you're not locating your fastball, you're going to give up some home runs there. But the swings they were taking on the breaking stuff, it was pretty amazing to me. I don't think you can take swings like that, not knowing they're coming. I don't know. That's all I can say.
”

Apparently that was not all Hammel could say because he went on.

“There's rumours and things like that,” the right-hander said. “I don't know. I can't speak on that but they were taking very big, strong hacks on breaking stuff. It's something I've never seen before.
”

That's not quite right. Maybe the 29-year-old right-hander has seen it before –- like in 2011 when he allowed 21 homers, with a 4.76 ERA for the Rockies. Hammel has allowed 93 homers in 794 innings. There must be a whole lot of cheating going on wherever Hammel goes.

If you recall last summer, it was the Yankees that openly suggested the Jays were cheating, giving location and/or pitch selection to the batter in the box. The accusation came up because catcher Russell Martin was flashing complex signs to his pitcher, even with nobody on base.

An ESPN The Magazine exclusive report later suggested that one visiting team had noticed a man in a white shirt seated in the stands to the right of the scoreboard in centre field. ESPN did not send anyone to check it out for themselves. The mystery bullpen informants said the man in white was acting strangely and the feeling was that he was the Jays' spy in the sky(dome). It was later learned that the  opposition bullpen that had suggested the unethical Jays' behaviour had been the White Sox pen. Sergio Santos was a member of the Sox at the time, but refused to get into it after becoming a Blue Jay.

Last year in the wake of the controversy, Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos felt obligated to stage a press conference and call it the dumbest thing he had ever heard. He will not repeat the press conference although he likely will repeat the sentiment. The Jays host the Red Sox on the weekend.

Q-Hi Richard,

I recently read an article speculating about a trade of Edwin Encarnacion by the deadline for a maximum return while he's swinging one of the league's hottest bats.

There also seems to be a lot of online chatter about how the Jays will find a place in the line up for both J.P. Arencibia and Travis d'Arnaud for as early as next year, if not by the end of the season.

So here's the question, what are your thoughts on the likelihood of the Jays easing d'Arnaud into the catching role next year by having JP and d'Arnaud split their time between catching and DH'ing? 
Perhaps J.P. catches about 100 games, having some off days and DH'ing the rest while having d'Arnaud catches about 60 games and DH's the majority of the rest of games?
 While the team may not wish to put a rookie into the DH role, it allows for d'Arnaud to ease into the catching role while keeping both of their bats in the lineup.
 Perhaps in the possible absence of EE's bat and rather than making a big free agent splash to sign a DH, or re-sign EE, this could be a low cost option to allow for money to be spent on a starter or other area of need.

Cheers,

Robert Lynch, Ottawa

A-The change in the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the provision of no more free-agent compensation for Type A or B talent in the following June draft has changed the landscape of mid-season trades. There is now no advantage for Alex Anthopoulos to hang onto a player like Encarnacion if he is out of contention, over trying to gather young talent in return by the end of July.

But with that in mind, there are still some trade deadline options for AA to weigh. The Jays could keep the red-hot DH/1B and at the end of the season negotiate a long-term deal, which, of course, would be no longer than five years and no more than Jose Bautista's $65 million, just on principle. In order to ensure that they can keep negotiating with EE as a free agent, the Jays would have to make a post-season qualifying offer of one year and $12 million, minimum. Do the Jays want to make that long term commitment to Edwin with all the talent they have rushing up through the system?

As for a trade by the deadline, never say never, but what team will give anything significant for a half season of Edwin Encarnacion and will the Jays be out of the wild-card hunt by then? Likely not. AA always insists there is no player that is untouchable, but you need a trade partner with a fit. Not that easy. The Jays don't need prospects. They need major-league ready talent. Why would teams do that?

As for the Arencibia-D'Arnaud conundrum, the cliché is that it's a nice problem to have, but the reality is that it's a problem nonetheless. Arencibia is a former PCL MVP. D'Arnaud is a former Eastern League MVP and is heading in that direction this season in Triple-A Las Vegas. Why can't a rookie be the No. 1 catcher for a contender? See Buster Posey and the '10 Giants. The Jays will have to make a decision. If they do as you suggest and have both men catch and DH then you would need to carry a third catcher full-time. That would not seem likely. Therefore the Jays will have to make a decision for 2013 between the two players. If both men stay, D'Arnaud will catch and J.P. would have to learn to play first base. That is a possibility, but he needs to show improvement in his on-base ability. Four walks and 42 Ks, with a .245 average and a .273 OBP won't cut it for a starting first baseman. 

Q-Hi Richard.

I used to live in Toronto area and became a Blue Jays fan. Still I follow what is happening with the team. It looks to me the pitching staff is not very strong in left-handed pitching. I can see a prospect in Dunedin, named Sean Nolin who is 22-years-old, big guy and has pretty good numbers. My question is how much chance has he to pitch in the majors and how far along is he. The other question: What happened to Daniel Norris?

Elek Vaszko, Budapest, Hungary

A-That's sort of misleading to say the Jays are not very strong in left-handed pitching. The current ace is Ricky Romero and there are two talented left-handers in the pen, with Luis Perez and Darren Oliver. Lefty Evan Crawford has been up and down three times, while Aaron Laffey is at AAA ready in any emergency. That's it for major-league ready southpaws, but the pipeline is full. At AA-New Hampshire is Brett Cecil. At A-Dunedin is the aforementioned Nolin, with his 5-0 record and 2.25 ERA. At A-Lansing are Justin Nicolino and David Rollins, while at extended spring are Daniel Norris and Griffin Murphy. If there is a veteran lefty starter available, the Jays would surely be interested – excepting of course for the recently DFA'd almost-50-year-old Jamie Moyer. As for your specific question about Nolin, the 2010 Jays' sixth rounder, a native of Seaford, N.Y., has the size and stuff to make an impact, but likely in about two or three years. And there is stiff competition internally.

Q-Trying to get my head around recent dealings with reliever Ryota Igarashi.
 Called up. One poor outing. Demoted. Claimed on waivers by Yankees.
 Granted he failed in a previous ML stint and he didn't pitch well this time BUT he apparently throws in the high 90s and has been lights out in a Triple-A hitters' park in a hitters' league.
 I realize injuries etc. have started a carousel, but isn't AA's approach to this player short-sighted?
 There is nothing in the short-term position player quandary that couldn't be fixed short term by the Thames-McCoy switch.
 Maybe Laffey and Chavez provide more short-term versatility but at the cost of what could be a dominant late-inning reliever -- something the Jays could certainly use.
 Love what AA has done with the franchise but I certainly don't fathom this . The Yankees aren't giving him a shot for nothing. What are your thoughts?

Eric Emerson, Roslin

A-First of all, Igarishi just turned 33 years-old and the Jays' investment in his future was very short term to begin with. After a successful career with the Yakult Swallows, he had great numbers at Mets' Triple-A in 2011 and not-so-great numbers with the Mets. He had great numbers at Las Vegas for the Jays and they used their minor-league inventory as any team should, calling up a veteran with a live arm in a time of need. What happened then? They tried to clear him through waivers to get him back to Vegas and he was claimed by the Yankees. Que sera sera. You're AA, you roll the dice. Ryota's not Dice-K. Besides, it was two poor outings on consecutive days. He is not a Yankee right now.

Q-Lind, Gomes, Cooper, Igarashi, Laffey, Chavez,etc. I'm curious as to the rules regarding call-ups or 'sent downs' (I'm assuming there are guidelines). How many call-ups is a team allowed? Does it depend upon contracts, injuries, etc?

Jan Bortoski, Belleville

A-If a team actually had a 40-man roster with every player having minor league options remaining, you could move all players up and down to the majors as often as you wanted in one calendar year and it would only cost the team one option each. Evan Crawford is an example of that, up and down three times so far in '12. When a player is optioned to the minors he must remain for 10 days unless he is replaces someone being disabled. That's why Yan Gomes has not been able to return, though he could have been useful. A player needs to be added to the 40-man roster to be called up the first time and if the team is at 40, they must designate someone from the current roster to be removed or can transfer a DL'd player to the 60-day list where he remains on the roster but does not count against the 40.  

Q-Hi Richard,

Talk about a roller coaster! Still, I'm loving it and imagining what it will be like as all this pitching talent matures.
 On to the question: Perhaps a silly one, but I keep seeing all these players (and coaches!) eating mountains of sunflower seeds. When Rasmus comes to the plate he has a huge wad of them in his cheek. Several players do. They seem to work on shelling them and spitting the seeds as they go along. Seems like they put half a package in their mouths at one time. Two-part question ... Is this a uniquely 'baseball' skill to split, swallow and spit the seeds and shells? And isn't there a danger of someone falling and choking--they are athletes engaged in strenuous activities.

Cheers,

Bryan Willis, Vancouver

A-Sunflower seeds serve a purpose, other than feeding the birds post-game at outdoor stadiums. Baseball is a game of relaxed intensity. It's not football. If you see a hitter in the box with a hard-set jaw, that's not a good thing. The tension from the face usually indicates tension through the rest of the body. The twitch-muscles are affected adversely. Chewing gum or working on seeds helps to relax everything. As for the choke factor, the body is a wonderful thing. Put a handful of seeds in your own mouth and try and swallow them in a bunch. Your body will not allow it. Contact or collision would end up at worst with a mouthful of seeds sprayed onto the ground. The skill is pretty much a baseball skill. Hockey players spitting seeds on the ice or basketball players onto the court would not be good. 

Q-Could you please explain the mandatory option year affixed to Adeiny H's rookie contract? 

Did he negotiate that he must be placed on the 40-man roster at the start of 2012, was it required that he reside there or have the Jays lose him in a rule 5 (or similar) draft, or was it simply the Jays choice?

Thanks,

Mel Norton, Burlington

A-There is no such thing as a mandatory option year. What happened was that when Hechavarria signed with the Jays as a highly coveted international Cuban defector free-agent, he was much in demand. The Yankees wanted him to be the eventual Derek Jeter replacement. His Jays' contract was four-years, $10 million with immediate inclusion on the 40-man roster, armed with four options, I believe the extra option was because he was not a college player and also because he was signed on April 13, 2010, with the championship season already underway. I have a feeling they waited until then to officially ink the deal in order to ensure that important extra option year through 2013.

Basically, the Jays have options on Hechavarria this year and next.

On Opening Day 2014, if he is not on the Jays' 25-man major-league roster, he would have to pass through outright waivers and would surely be claimed. As for the other CBA rules like arbitration and free agency, there is no change from any other player. He could be renewed by the Jays for 2014 at a maximum 20-percent cut from his 2013 salary -- $1.75 million plus the pro-rated $1 million of his signing bonus -- if the Jays so desired – which they wouldn't. They will negotiate a fair deal when that time comes. But once his major-league clock starts, he is just like any other player except his salary floor starts at a higher level. If Hechavarria made the Jays' opening day 2013 roster, he would be eligible for free agency only after 2018. Good deal for both sides.   

Q-Hi Richard.

Have you noticed any empty beer cans or fried chicken containers in the Jays' clubhouse? It seems that they have a disciplinary problem that's spilling all over the field, particularly in the direction of umpires. Rogers won't want it spreading into the box office. Is this the proverbial Litmus test for Farrell - to tame the so-called 'passion' and play disciplined baseball?

Chris McKee, Collingwood

A-It's less of a Jays' discipline problem than it is a self-control problem and an understanding of what's best for the team concept. The Jays play a very disciplined game in terms of the way the game is played. They bunt when asked, they go first to third and second to home. They pay attention to the coaches and respect each other and the game. The one issue they have is allowing their natural passion to spill over into demonstrations of unhappiness with certain umpires and their calls. The solution? Simply direct the passion and joy of playing the game into the dugout and towards their own side of the field and everything would be good. Umpires are human and not always right. It's part of the game. When a strike call is made that you disagree with or an out call is made on appeal, glare, ask a question, let them know that you disagree, then move on. The men in blue always have the last word. But it's not a discipline problem as much as anger management.  

Q-Dear Richard,

After seeing the Jays get schooled by the Rangers I believe all the major trouble areas for the Jays were exposed. Everywhere except for defence. By your next mailbag the Jays will be under .500 All the hoopla and the hype has now settled into reality. I'd like your thoughts on this matter.

One major question I have that I've tried to ask you before was about Thames (.243/3HR/11RBI/9BB) and his lacklustre defence. How much longer do you believe the Jays will give him. Clearly he's a waste of a roster spot.

Also does it concern you that the Jays top two hitters are hitting just over .270? (EE, Lawrie)

Kam H., Richmond Hill

A-Okay. It's my next mailbag and the Jays are three games above .500 and back in the hunt. They are 6-0 in games that they enter at .500 or on opening day at 0-0. Thames is gone. Rajai Davis has always felt he should be starting and leading off. He's starting and seems to be correct about that – but not about leading off. The Thames lack of defence was a major factor in the change being made. The Jays' defensive breakdowns seemed to snowball, creating doubt in the pitchers, leading to control issues. Decent Jays' starting pitching was made to look mediocre. The Jays need to put a team on the field that can make the plays defensively because they are not going to overpower teams on a nightly basis. The general rule of thumb seems to be, whenever it looks like the Jays are about to go on a roll, bet on them to tank for a little while. When it looks the bleakest, look for them to start a win streak.  

Q-Greetings Richard;

The circumstances seem perfect: 

The Minnesota Twins are a horrible, small-market team with a huge commitment to a resurgent Canadian Player (Morneau) who plays at a position where another player to whom they owe even more money (Mauer) may soon have to play.

 The Blue Jays need a power hitting corner infielder, are in the race, and would surely love to add another member of the Baseball Canada commercials to the clubhouse. 

So Richard, is there any possibility of a Morneau to Blue Jays trade this year?

Thanks,

Cory Snyder, 
Cambridge, ON

A-The Twins financial commitment to Morneau is not really that huge. Since they moved into beautiful Target Field three years ago, they have been around $100 million in payroll, topping off at $113 million this year. The Twins have the B.C. native Morneau signed this year and next for $14 million per season. It's likely that they will try and eventually create room at first base for the physically-challenged-to-catch Joe Mauer, who is the face of the franchise, being a Minnesota native. But there is no desperation to make a Morneau trade this summer. They have a commitment to the fans that came along with the new stadium, to put a winner on the field and trading Morneau for prospects would work against that promise to fans, at least in the short-term. The Jays might be better served to pursue Morneau, if he is completely healthy, in the off-season. Imagine Jays' Canadian infield corners of Lawrie and Morneau.

Q-Richard
,

When the DH rule came in, I was against it. I preferred the National League style of play, the strategy involved in that league was more intricate. However, I find that a split league of DH and no DH is not a good idea. Obviously, with the money invested by the AL in developing players for the DH role it appears they will never give that position up. Although I prefer no DH, I would rather both leagues use it for the sake of continuity. Besides, this game has changed so much now that using a DH is no longer so radical - heck, most fans today have grown up with the DH. What are your thoughts overall on the DH?

Kevin Layman, St. John's

A-I'm like you. Originally I was a baseball purist that the game should be played with nine men against nine men, the way the game was drawn up by Alexander Cartwright. But I have given up the ghost that both leagues will ever go back to the NL rules. Therefore, like you, I feel it's only fair for MLB to be played under one set of rules. It's like if the NBA Eastern conference had no three-point line. They'd be playing the same game when a West team came in, but the results would be dramatically different. Pitchers aren't taught to hit and even though most of them were position players as well as pitchers when they were kids, for most of them swinging the bat is an embarrassment.  

Q-Sorry Richard but I can't let this one go. What did Baltimore do right in the off-season that the Jays didn't do? We keep getting told to wait for next year, year after year, and then we will challenge for first. We keep getting told that our players have to develop, be patient. We have a lot of new players, still waiting. And yet the O's jump from finishing last place every year to first place, all at once, over the off-season. If the Jays had picked up a couple of those veteran players.....

Bruce Hutchison, Winnipeg

A-It's May 31 and the Jays just swept the O's and the O's have lost eight of their last 10. I would hold that feel-good O's thought for another couple of months then re-submit the question to the mailbag.

Q-Hi Richard

Wonderful column --- much appreciated. My question relates to the situation recently where the Jays are away and batting first in the inning, We are in the ninth inning with the score tied --- the Jays send their "closer" Janssen to pitch. Would it not be better to hold Janssen in reserve until they scored a run, as it was, Janssen pitched a good inning, but was done.

 To me, I think the Jays wasted their "closer" this game.

 What am I missing.

Thank you

William Scott, Fenelon Falls

A-On the road, when you get to the ninth inning in the other team's park and the game is tied, it's like a save situation because if you pace yourself and send out a less talented pitcher that allows just one run the game is over. In the game situation that you pointed out, the thinking from Farrell was that if Janssen gets though the inning on a low pitch count and the Jays take the lead in the top of the 10th,  he has the option of sending Janssen back out for another inning. But since the Jays didn't score, the manager rolled the dice with another reliever. It's hard to preach the strategy of saving your best for later when later may never come. 

Q-Hi Richard,

Let's assume that Alvarez, Drabek and Hutchison continue to pitch well during the season and start to pile up innings. Given the trend to limit young starters' overall innings pitched, what do you see the Blue Jays doing with these three? Who would they replace them with and what would happen if we were in a playoff position?

Rob Brander, Sydney, Australia

A-Apparently Hutchison will be limited to around 160 innings, while Alvarez and Drabek are both being given a longer leash. There are specific things that can be done. As the season moves along, they can use off days to limit Hutch's starts and if not that, then by August, they would have to make a decision on who is most major-league ready from among the minor leaguers. They may also make a move at the trade deadline or in August for a veteran if they feel strongly about their ability to contend. That would be a nice problem to have. 

Griffin: How Blue Jays latest roster moves affect Adeiny Hechavarria

On Monday afternoon, the reeling Blue Jays announced a seemingly unusual roster change, purchasing the contract of left-hander Aaron Laffey from Triple-A Las Vegas and sending right-hander Chad Beck back to their top affiliate after one day in Texas, without being used.

Meanwhile, right-hander Jesse Chavez, who was promoted at the same time as Beck and pitched five innings in relief on Sunday, therefore rendering him unavailable for at least three more days, remained with the Jays. Beck has the fresher arm. What gives?

And Monday's unusual shuffling of the deck chairs took place one day after announcing the prior unusual roster change, with Beck and Chavez being called up to the Jays, that move coming one day after right-hander Ryoto Igarashi and first baseman David Cooper were summoned as reenforcements. How to explain?

These are becoming unusual times for the Jays as they struggle to stay within range of the rest of the deep and powerful AL East and the enticing second wild-card spot. 

Here's one interpretation of what it all means for the Blue Jays in the short term:

Laffey, 27, is a fresh left-handed arm to use in middle relief out of the pen against the Orioles with five lefty hitters, led by Nick Markakis and Xavier Avery and to turn two switch-hitters around, including Matt Wieters. He won't be needed that often, but he can also pitch more than one inning when called upon.

Then into town after the O's comes Boston, with four lefty swingers led by David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez and two switch-hitters including Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Laffey was 2-1 in his last four starts, with a 2.70 ERA at Vegas. His best spring outing for the Jays had been in Fort Myers against the Bosox in mid-March. When the Sox leave, all Laffey bets are off.

Chavez, 28, remained with the Jays, even after his five-inning relief stint, because the Jays need an alternate starting option for the short-term and Beck is strictly a reliever. The Jays may, in fact, be thinking about keeping Chavez and inserting him into the rotation, depending on the outcome of Drew Hutchison's start against the Orioles, Monday night.

Chavez impressed in his relief outing in Arlington on Sunday, shutting down the Rangers for the first three innings in aggressive fashion. Meanwhile Hutchison, at 21, could clearly use more developmental innings either at AA-New Hampsire or Vegas.

The problem with sending Chavez down instead of Beck on Monday, to bring up the fresh-armed Laffey is that, barring injury, Chavez, if they wanted him to make a start at the major-league level, would have had to remain in the minors for 10 days before being recalled. He stays.

Speaking of which, the Jays may have made a mistake when they sent utility infielder Yan Gomes back to Las Vegas to bring up and make room for Beck and Chavez. They likely discovered that when Yunel Escobar injured his groin in the first inning on Sunday and aggravated it in the fourth inning, forcing manager John Farrell to resort to a makeshift defensive alignment with Jose Bautista moving to third and Brett Lawrie to shortstop.

Second baseman Kelly Johnson is already hobbled with a left hamstring issue, meaning that Omar Vizquel, the only backup middle infielder, was playing second base, Sunday. Of course, Edwin Encarnacion can also play third base but he was the DH on Sunday and that would not have solved the shortstop problem. 

The Escobar groin and the Johnson hamstring are two areas for a baseball player, especially a middle infielder, that you do not want to take chances with. The Jays prefer to err on the side of caution, in any case. The solution for the Jays is that they monitor the situation on Monday night, then if they feel they have to disable one of the two infielders for 15 days, they can bring back Gomes for his versatility using the DL replacement rule.

At the same time, after Hutchison's start, the Jays can decide whether the next outing from the fifth spot -- that being Sunday aganst the Red Sox, or even pushed back to next week if they use the off-day to skip the fifth starter -- they can decide whether that start will be Hutchison or Chavez. The one of the two pitchers that is being sent to the minors can be replaced on the roster by Adeiny Hechavarria, the 22-year-old Cuban shortstop at Vegas, who can make his long-awaited debut where needed.  

Hechavarria, 23, is already on the 40-man roster and is already using a contract option this year, as per his original four-year, $10 million deal. The hotshot glove man is batting .314 with the 51's, with four homers, 34 RBIs and an .826 OPS. Farrell indicated at spring training that if either Escobar or Johnson was injured and on the DL, there was a strong likelihood, the team would take a look at Hechavarria.

That time may be at hand. These are tough times for the Jays.

Blue Jays mailbag: Guess who'd be in the playoffs if the season ended today?

The baseball season is less than one-third complete, but at this point the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and their unlikely run to the Stanley Cup Final should serve as inspiration to MLB teams that may barely aspire to make it onto the October dance floor.

To paraphrase the late Al Davis and his iconic Raiders' slogan...with slight adjustment: “Just win, baby...or at least just win enough to earn the second wild-card.”

Consider that for all of their slumps, woes, flashes of anger, blown saves and other disappointments, if the regular season ended today, the Jays would be dancing with the big boys.

According to the AL standings, as of Friday morning, the Jays would fly to Tampa Bay for a one-game wild-card playoff. If they beat the Rays, the Jays would return to the Rogers Centre for Games 1-2 of the ALDS to face the Orioles, with the best record in the league.

The rule was changed so that you can now play the ALDS within your division. The rule was changed to ensure more certainty in scheduling and travel. The other way never made sense. The other series would feature the Indians at the Rangers.

Over in the NL, the wild-card sudden-death game would see the Cardinals at the Braves, with the winner hosting the first two NLDS games against the Dodgers. That series would return to Dodger Stadium for the final three games. The other NL series would feature the Reds at the Nationals.

O's, Jays, Tribe and Nats in the post-season. Who'd a thunk it. Of course, it is early.

On to the mailbag.

Q-Hi, Richard,

Enjoyed your baseball acumen and 'mailbag' very much. I wish that is more frequently published.

 Regarding the first Brett Lawrie incident which 'earned' him a four-game suspension, I was more dismayed by the umpire's action, especially calling the last strike (which was clearly a ball) in order to teach him 'a lesson'.

 This call might have a bearing on the Jays' record, and affect the Jays' standing and chances of earning a wild card at the end of the season. Why does MLB allow the umpires such behaviour? Is it because of the MLB/Umpire labour agreement? I am also surprised that almost no one in the media questioned the umpire's 'right' to 'teach' Brett a lesson.

 Please help to explain this situation. Thank you.

Nicholas Wong, Markham

A-First of all, there is no guarantee that even if Lawrie had drawn his base-on-balls against Fernando Rodney with one out in the ninth, trailing by a run that the Jays would have come back to win on May 15 vs. the Rays.

As for home plate umpire Bill Miller's mindset and whether he was proving a point, it is impossible for media to “report” something that the umpire himself refuses to acknowledge. Bu it is a well known wink-and-nudge advice to players that if they show an umpire up by starting to run to first base on a called strike two, as Lawrie did, then they had sure as hell better be ready to swing at any pitch anywhere close to the strike zone on the next pitch. That observation does not come from interviews with umpires because they won't ever admit it. It comes from years of watching games.

As for why MLB allows such behaviour, the men in blue are in charge of the game, not the central office and by and large do an excellent job. There are about 300 pitches to be called in most major-league games, with 100 decisions on the bases. With the advent of slo-mo and super slo-mo replays, with the little strike box seen on many telecasts, the ability to second-guess umpires decisions constantly and instantly is easy. MLB does review video and does fine offending umpires. Fines are not announced. Suspensions are. The union protects their members from being publicly sanctioned. The big events, like all-star games and World Series are also used to reward excellence among umps.

But in defence of baseball's umpires, why are NBA referees not subject to as much criticism? It seems to me there are far more sketchy calls in basketball that directly impact far more outcomes of games than in baseball. First-step travelling or driving through the lane for a dunk and taking steps, that is not called, ticky-tack fouls, no-calls in big situations, wrong calls on loose balls out of bounds, Many are obvious, but broadcasters in basketball waste little energy in criticizing officials. Baseball umpires have it the worst of all the major sports in terms of under the microscope. 

Q-Hi Richard,

Thanks for the mailbag. For all the talent and potential of this year's team I'm seriously questioning the emotional state of the clubhouse. From Bautista to Escobar to Lawrie (although those strike calls were disgraceful), it seems like the outbursts and negative energy is snowballing. Obviously the arguing will only lead to more calls going against them (begetting yet more frustration) but I also have a hard time believing that they can ever reach their potential in such a weak/negative mental state. This team is in serious need of some zen. What does management need to do, if anything? Do the Jays have a sports psychiatrist on staff? Maybe Phil Jackson is ready to try his hand at baseball (sort of kidding)? Is the front office concerned?

Thanks.

Adam
 Murl, Toronto

A-The Jays front office has to be concerned, though they say they support all their players and admire the passion. Phil Jackson unfortunately is into triangles not diamonds. I just wrote a column about the anger issue in Friday's paper. In isolation, there is nothing wrong with being emotional through the course of a game. It's preferable to being emotionless. There's nothing worse for fans than when they think that they may care more about the outcome than players they see smiling and laughing in the dugout while being trounced. Bautista explains that outward passion may be in the DNA of Latin ballplayers like himself and Yunel Escobar. Lawrie should be considered a guest Latino.

In the case of Bill Miller and the helmet bounce, what struck me the most is Lawrie's seeming lack of recognition at the time that his helmet had even ricocheted off the umpire. I say that because most people would have been snapped back into an area of contrition by unintentionally hitting a game official. “Sorry, dude. Are you alright?”

In actual fact, the big-picture issue I have is the affect it has on the way all umpires will perceive the Jays. Umpires are only human, but sometimes they may suffer from the “man in uniform syndrome” which can be irritating to players and fans. They feel they must show they are in charge and players must defer to their decisions. The Jays are battling a real perception issue with umpires. It's a tight knit fraternity. What's a good whine to serve with STRIKE 3.

Q-Richard:

Is it just me or has the quality of home-plate umpiring taken a serious downturn this year? And I'm not just thinking of the Brett Lawrie incident. Strike zones within and between games seem to me to be a constantly moving target. I don't remember pitchers in previous years having to "figure out" the strike zone in the early innings as much as they seem to have to do now. Meanwhile, the players are taking the heat for getting frustrated or chasing junk they'd otherwise leave.

Matthew McKean, Ottawa

A-It is believed that Roger Clemens paid more attention to umpires than he did to opponents. The Rocket had a list of MLB umpires with handwritten notes to himself in a book reminding him of their individual strike zones. He was said to be in possession of the upcoming umpires' travel schedule, which crew was going to be working each of his starts. By paying attention to boxscores leading up to his start, he could anticipate accurately who would be behind the plate when he strode to the mound. That tells you that even players know and accept that strike zones are a very individual thing.

Again, many TV directors seem to feel it is important to replay in slo-mo every close pitch that is in the least bit questionable. The thing to remember is that the centrefield camera is never exactly dead centre because it would be in the batter's lone of vision, so every replay of a pitch is not quite what it seems. Plus the plate in real life has depth while the TV picture is one-dimensional. Thus, as the technology of television improves, the quality of umpiring seems to get worse. Hmmm! I'll bet Hall-of-Fame umpire Jocko Conlan was pretty horrible on balls and strikes, but who would know.

Q-Hi Richard,

I don't get how this Tampa team wins. No Longoria no Jennings, no Niemann and their defence is not nearly as good as last year. Granted their pitching is solid but their hitters and fielders with no names somehow manage to win. To me it seems they're fielding a team of independent league ball players... Will Rhymes, Elliot Johnson, Sean Rodriquez. Lot of average players. The Jays have talent, young, veterans, semi-vets and good pitching yet they can't beat this team. It's a head scratcher for me. Any thoughts or assumptions Mr. Griffin?

Kam H., Richmond Hill

A-That is what struck me in the last two series against the Rays is the drop-off in their defensive abilities. It is difficult when the shortstop-second base combo is so fluid with players dropping in and out. Elliot Johnson? You have to be kidding. The Rays made more horrible defensive plays in one series vs. the Jays than they have made in many season-series in the past. Yet they won two of three. Joe Maddon is a very good manager. He has a very good coaching staff. But their starting pitching must be tremendous to overcome the current defensive shortcomings. By the way, it is. 

Q-In your write-up about the Lind demotion, you said "Lind, in 34 games with the Jays, has three homers and 11 RBIs, with a .186 average, a .586 OPS and has had visible struggles on the field and in the clubhouse." What were his issues in the clubhouse? I'd always heard he was a model teammate?

Neil P., Toronto

A-Perhaps that comment was unfair to Lind, making it perhaps seem like he was a bad teammate. That was not the intent or the case. The “visible struggles” in the clubhouse were actually his lost demeanour and his confusion when answering questions about his on-field struggles. He was caught between being aggressive early in counts and seeing more pitches. He needed time away from the major-league spotlight to work things out. That is the translation of the original comment regarding Lind's issues. 

Q-Hi Richard,

I have a cross-sport question for you. When Brett Lawrie was suspended for four games, I didn't see any mention of a change that the Jays made to fill his spot on the 25-man roster. The way I see it, there are three possible explanations. One is that I just missed it, and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. The second is that it's not worth the trouble or the use of an option to bring someone up for four days, and the third is that there something in the rules that says they have to keep him on the active roster but not play him for the duration of the suspension  If it's the last of these, I'd like to see the NHL take the same approach with suspensions. I think it would go a long way to cleaning up a lot of the head shots we're seeing in hockey lately. Your thoughts?

Kevin D, Toronto

A-No, the Jays were forced to go with a 24-man roster. In fact, that's a pretty good suggestion you have about making the NHL suspension rule have some teeth, with repercussions for the team in terms of losing a player. The issue there may be that hockey has a rule about the number of skaters each game, but the names of those players can change any time with guys being benched even minutes before games. NHL coaches and GMs would sure pay more attention to their tough guys, their careless stick guys, their high elbow guys, their hit-from-behind guys, if it meant losing a skater for a period of time.  

Q-Dear Richard,

I am not convinced that Vlad will prove to be the answer for what the Blue Jays need. If I am right, what are the chances of AA pulling off a midseason trade? One name that occurs to me is Mark Trumbo of the Angels. He fits the AA ideal of controllable players with a high upside as a first baseman but, with the signing of Pujols by LA for the long term, he has no real position to play there.

Bill Reynolds, Toronto

A-Throwing out an opinion like that is jarring. What is it that the Jays need that Guerrero does not provide? Vlad since he turned 30 has hit anywhere between .290 and .329, has a minimum .733 OPS and is healthier right now than he was even a year ago. If he is brought up after the inter-league games in NL parks are completed he will bring a strong right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup and a veteran presence that opposing pitchers must respect. At a total cost of under $1 million, he will be an upgrade over whoever's roster spot he takes without using up any minor-league inventory in trade.

I agree that Trumbo would be a good addition for any team that makes that deal. If the Angels feel they have a chance to make the post-season in July they would likely be willing to deal Trumbo for some immediate help in other areas. The Jays don't want to give up immediate major-league players. The best time for a Jays deal for Trumbo would be this winter, because the Angels would be more likely to take futures, something the Jays will have available in abundance. The Halos attitude on Trumbo will not change between now and then because Pujols is there for the next 10 years. Trumbo's worst position is third base. He may be able to play a little outfield or DH, but first base is where he should be.

Q-Hi, Richard:

Just when I thought I had this 'option' thing figured out, thanks mostly to your explanations, along comes Adam Lind. He played parts of the '06, '07, & '08 seasons with the Jays, presumably burning up an option each time he was sent back down. How does he get a fourth option now? What am I missing? 
Love your explanations of M.L.B.'s inner workings!

Bruce Spurrier, Courtenay

A-The part of the '06 schedule that Lind played with the Jays does not count as an option because he was called up, in effect graduated to the Jays at the end of the year and never was sent back to Triple-A that same season. Lind would have had to be added to the 40-man roster for the first time at the end of the '06 season so they merely took advantage of the expanded September roster and brought him up to get his feet wet. This time was only his third option when he was sent out. 

Q-The Griff,

I haven’t run out to get a Brazilian yet (I'm more into trimming) and am very aware that Yan Gomes is at best a replacement level player at the MLB level. That being said does he not provide more value for the Jays than a pinch bunting bench coach (much respect to Omar but seriously) or a light hitting 5th outfielder? (Benny and his jets.) He can play 2, 3, 5 and I reckon he could fist together a few games in left too which would provide more late-game versatility and some stability in terms of short DL (suspension) trips. I'm ready for your barrage of abuse but in a non SABR approach he's got a way higher ceiling than Ben at this point and even hitting 250/8/30 in limited abs provides a spit ton more production than Omar.

 Keep it greasy,

Cam Picyk, Victoria

A-It was third time lucky for the Jays tapping into the Brazilian market for major-leaguers. They first signed pitcher Jose Pett, then tried with Jo Matumoto, finally hitting pay dirt with Gomes. All three were born in Sao Paulo. As for your roster suggestions, I agree with you about the superfluous presence of fifth outfielder Ben Francisco, but if Omar is sent packing, who would play shortstop or second base in an emergency. Usually the reserve middle infielder is a veteran with iffy offensive skills and a good glove. That describes the 45-year-old Vizquel. But I agree, there should be room for Gomes in the majors for a long time as an Eric Hinske type bench player that also has the ability to catch.    

Q-Did Brett still take batting practice etc. or did he totally stay away from the Rogers centre?
thankyou

Norma Moore, Misissauga

A-When Lawrie was serving his suspension, he was able to participate in all the pre-game stuff, but watched the game from the Jays' private box on the 300 level. One guesses he did not sit still.

Q-Hi Richard,

The fact that Drabek and Hutchinson have pitched so well at the back end of the rotation has made us forget about Brett Cecil. What has happened to him in AA? Has he regained the velocity and command that once made him a 15-game winner? At this point, are the Blue Jays content to keep him buried in the minors until he regains a semblance of his former self? Do you feel he is likely done as a Blue Jay and requires a change of scenery to re-establish himself as a major league player? 

Thanks.

Ivan Koh, Mississauga

A-Brett Cecil has made two starts at New Hampshire since returning from the disabled list with a groin strain. In the last outing he went the first 5-2/3 innings in a combined no-hitter, throwing 86 pitches. Cecil is a long shot to make it back to the Jays any time soon. His velocity is still down and he makes too many mistakes up high in the strike zone.

You can get away with those mistakes at 93 mph, but not at 87. You can get away with those mistakes at Double-A but not in the majors. It only takes a half-dozen mislocated pitches to do you in in the majors. Cecil is that type of pitcher. What the Jays need to see is him working at the bottom of the strike zone consistently. However, the best idea for Cecil might be a trade to another team after this season, a change of scenery moving forward.  

Q-(I can't take full credit for this question, posed by Kevin Glew last week, BUT:)
Why haven't we seen Ryota Igarashi get a call-up yet? Considering the performance of the Jays bullpen thus far, combined with Igarashi's Triple-A numbers in the hitter-friendly PCL, shouldn't he be given a shot?

Josh Maher, Halifax, NS

A-There seems to be a strong fascination towards Jays' Triple-A right-hander Ryota Igarashi. The former Yakult Swallow and New York Met turns 33-years-old on Monday, so he's not a kid. In 19 games in relief he has four saves, a 1.29 ERA, 3 walks and 28 Ks in 21 innings. That's pretty good. Those numbers are very similar to his Triple-A numbers with the Mets in '11, but when he was called up to New York he was not as effective, walking 28 batters in 38-2/3 innings, with a 1.836 WHIP. The Jays may be looking at those numbers leading to hesitation, but if a need arises in middle relief, I would not be surprised if he gets a look. They didn't land Yu Darvish. Instead, quiet Ryota.

Q-Hi Richard,

I watched the Expos from the beginning to their sad ending. Now I watch the Blue Jays faithfully, with a little left over for the Orioles. Like many, I saw Lawrie get upset with the ump, maybe a little, maybe a smidge too much, but it was good to see some emotion from a player. He does deserve what he gets, no doubt. It was also good to see Farrell argue vehemently and get thrown also, in my opinion he doesn't argue enough. The 'Earl of Baltimore' was my favourite. 
Do the umpires ever get disciplined for making obvious bad calls, one maybe, but two to show up a player?

Bob Andrews, Brandon, Man.

A-A smidge too much? “Other than that, how'd you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?” And, yes, personally, I enjoy unbridled emotion from my players as much as the next guy. Let Stoics play chess or Texas Hold 'Em. Ask anyone that has ever managed against me in OBA baseball. Emotion is good when under control. In addition, emotion should be confined to your own performance, to encouraging your teammates and within your dugout. That's the kind of emotion that channels positive energy for your baseball team. But when you direct your emotion to an opponent or to game officials it is counter-productive and distracting. I love Lawrie's dugout celebrations after doing something good. I love his hustle, his reckless base running, his frothing demeanour – when it is kept on the Jays' side of the field. If the other dugout notices the positive energy or antics and is annoyed, so be it. It changes their focus. That is more effective for the Jays and their fans than getting in anyone's face.

Q-As a Jays fan in Australia I was excited to learn the two-game series against the Rays was on ESPN here. As we don't get too many Jays games this was something to look forward to. Alas it was possibly the most inept performance from the Blue Jays I've seen in some time. Hot and cold pitching, a Home Run King sadly out of touch, questionable ability at first and shortstop & mediocre outfielders makes m think this will be yet another .500 season for the Jays. A fourth-place or last-place finish seems inevitable. What do you say Richard?

Ian Maurice, Brisbane, Australia

A-Boy, the view from Down Under must be slightly different than it is from here. Actually, if you were forming an opinion over just those two televised games, that is unfortunate. When you see these Jays play on an every day basis, there are more reasons for optimism than the other way. The Jays thus far have given away many more games than they have stolen, yet they continue to remain above .500.

If your view is that this team will improve as the season goes on, then 81 to 86 wins would seem to be a reasonable target. That will not be a last-place finish and if the result is at the top end of that number, they will be in the conversation for a second wild-card spot well into September. The goal at spring training as expressed by manager Farrell was to get length in the batting order with above-average production from top to bottom. There have been too many holes so far. Vlad may help that length.

Q-Heh Richard -

Just finished reading the mailbag for May 15.  A lot of questions about hitters and their approach at the plate.  My question is related - do all the hitters follow a "team approach", based on Murphy's coaching, or Farrell's wishes, or is it individualized for each player, or even just some players?  It seems to me that if it was more individualized, players would be more successful.  We often hear commentators say hitters should "keep it simple", "get back to what he does best", "just put the bat on the ball" and so on.  But if that isn't what he's being told to do, it might not be so simple!!  I do see how this could create conflict for an overall team philosophy, but a bunch of players hitting successfully is better than a bunch of players struggling.
 Thanks, as always!

Jon Empringham, Woodstock, ON

A-The Jays have a team batting approach that preaches getting into the opponent's bullpen as early as possible. There are two ways of doing that, of course – work his pitch count or pound the starter early. Cito Gaston was of the pound him early philosophy while Farrell is more into working pitch count. Very rarely when a batting philosophy changes, does the hitting coach remain the same. Dwayne Murphy has bridged the last two managers and has had to adjust his message to the same students. It's like a teacher that was teaching Creationism then all of a sudden changes to evolution. It's a tough change of direction. Adam Lind is proof of that. “Adam and Eve or Homo Erectus. Discuss.” 

Q-Could you give me an answer to why J.P. Arencibia is always trying to throw runners out from his knees? At first I thought it because he wasn't ready to be on his feet to throw the runner out but this seems to be a regular thing for him. I don't know if I have seen any MLB catcher attempt to throw runners out on their knees and I was just wondering if there was any reason behind Arencibia's choice to do this on a consistent basis.

Chris Ross, Vancouver

A-On opening day in Cleveland, Arencibia threw to second base from his knees in the sixth inning, nailing Shin Soo Choo. The throw made Jason Frasor duck, so you know it was low. Over the next week he mixed his throws between feet and knees. The advantage for Arencibia may be that his arm is stronger than his footwork is good.

The logic for guys that throw from their knees or guys like the late Thurman Munson who just unloaded the ball to second from all angles is that if you get the ball to a teammate early enough, he will have time to catch the ball and find the runner for the tag. Benito Santiago when he came up as a rookie with the Padres is the first catcher I remember making a habit of throwing from his knees. Benny was awesome. I remember on August 16, 1988 there was a note in the Expos game package that Otis Nixon had a streak of 16 straight steals without being thrown out by a catcher. That day Santiago gunned Nixon out at second base from his knees. The next day's game notes were amended to “has a streak of 16 straight steals without being thrown out by a catcher standing up.”