JOHN MCDONALD'S CABINET

Overbay SnakeBites Jays in Pirates' Series Win.

2011-07-01T10:17:00.000-04:00

There's nothing more I hate than watching ex-Jays players succeed for the wrong reasons in their bittersweet return.

That was certainly the case last night as Lyle Overbay walked into the game with a spectacular .230-ish batting average and promptly reached third base on a pop up that Jose Bautista, Yunel Escobar and Corey Patterson all couldn't make the play on.

Overbay was credited with a double for what was clearly an error and saw his average climb back over .230.

The Pirates have one of the worst offensive teams I have ever seen and somehow they are above .500 in the National League Central because of their pitching.

The return of Brett Cecil deserved better than allowing Lyle Overbay to snakebite his old team.

Evan Longoria Saves Reporter's Life

2011-05-17T06:58:00.001-04:00

That's Six Straight Wins For The Blue Jays

2011-05-17T06:51:00.000-04:00

Really good to see Aaron Hill coming around.

Ginger Litsch faces Porcello tonight.

Detroit's got a good rotation, guys.

Steal one and come back home for a hell of a matchup at the Dome Wednesday Night.

Romero vs. Hellickson.

Tampa's in town soon enough!

John McDonald Has Been Clutch In 2011.

2011-05-15T23:23:00.000-04:00

Here's a salute.

Courtesy of CTV Toronto

"Instincts serve McDonald Well At Third Base" - Jordan Schelling.

McDonald's Walkoff 11th Inning Homerun

Courtesy of The Canadian Press

This is A Blue Jays Moving Month We Like To Call May #bluejays

2011-05-15T23:01:00.000-04:00

Alex Anthopolous calls it at the beginning of the season by saying that the Jays would have a sub-par rotation and a really strong bullpen.

That's certainly been the case- the bullpen ranks #1 in the American League, and the starters? Below average of course.

A 20-20 start with Jose Bautista on a tear, you can't say enough about 16 homeruns by May 15th, 13 in 21 games, and Barry Bonds like numbers without the steroids.

A quarter of the way through the season, and the Jays are just in the thick of it, riding a five-game win streak, Bautista chasing down Roger Maris it seems like for the legitimate single-season homerun record.

It's a dream, really.

With New York featuring the likes of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, you can only wonder how soon the wheels will fall off some more after a ridiculous offensive April.

Who could have predicted that Tampa Bay would emerge from a disastrous start to lead the division forty games in?

I honestly thought trading Garza was like the Jays trading Marcum- they really lost something in their starting rotation.

We've got Detroit who spanked us with a no-no last weekend, it's time to enact revenge and take that back home Wednesday night and show Tampa that they're not the only ones who can play hardball.

That's all there's to it, for this is a moving month we like to call May.

Who's going to help Jose Bautista As The Season Looks As If It Might Be Over Before It Really Begins?

2011-04-24T20:57:00.004-04:00

You couldn't be more disappointed by back-to-back weekend losses on home soil for the Toronto Blue Jays in what seemed to be two winnable games against the Rays this weekend.

The unfortunate injuries to Hill and Nix during the homestand put a rather weak offense on display against David Price and Big Game James Shields.

It just seemed like no other player other than Jose Bautista was able to step up to the Rays' challenge. Bautista reached base in 12 of 14 plate appearances, and now boasts a .359 average with 7 homeruns, 10 RBIs and 19 walks in just 18 games.

Romero's Sunday start was reminiscent of an early April one in Seattle- where one pitch got away and cleared the fences amounting to the difference in the game, for the Jays couldn't find a way to cross the plate against Shields.

Saturday was no different in the return of Brandon Morrow. One pitch defined the outcome when the game was turned over to the bullpen and in the hands of Villaneuva.

Ben Zobrist did all the damage with both homeruns and Tampa just seemed to cruise to victory after that, despite a ninth inning meltdown by David Price on Saturday- perhaps Maddon left him out there just a bit too long.

I guess you couldn't blame the Jays, and the struggling Travis Snider though who was horribly robbed by a diving Sam Fulo in the 7th inning Saturday Afternoon in what looked like it had extra bases written all over it.

I just wonder if Mike McCoy is really the answer as a bench player- he might take a mighty swing but the ball never goes anywhere.

But that's baseball I guess, a game of inches and especially today when batter after batter kept hitting it down in the hot corner, but only to be scooped up at third base and either dramatically thrown out or the rockets caught off the bat of Jose Bautista or our favourite, John McDonald.

In this 9-12 start, the Jays just have to weather the storm now, as the schedule doesn't do them any favours in the coming week and a half as they embark on yet another three-city road trip, the second such in the early going of this 2011 campaign, battered by offensive injuries and a rotation that will be possibly 3/5ths demoted if Jo Jo Reyes continues to deliver on the side of just mediocre.

One also looks at the paltry batting averages put up by Snider, Riveria and Patterson and wonders if these guys really should be bonafide major leaguers for Snider still hasn't proven he's worthy, Riveria's bat is beginning to wake up but now he's just getting unlucky, and Patterson despite his speed has bounced around the Majors for years and years.

With all that in mind, you sort of just think as the Jays head to Texas, New York and Tampa if the team might find itself in a gaping hole they won't be able to get out of for the rest of the season.

Unless of course John Farrell and everyone else finds a way to shockingly weather the storm.

It seems like management doesn't care enough that the season is about to go south.

After all, it was coined a rebuilding year, I guess.

But can we really give up hope if it's only April and no one's run away with the division as it seems like every team is mired in about a .500 or so start?

John McDonald Walks Off In the 11th!

2011-04-22T23:14:00.001-04:00

From an amazing Father's Day homerun to six John McDonald homeruns last year from the defensive wizard we know as the Prime Minister of Defence, Mac gave another one for the ages tonight.

Here's the WALKOFF, courtesy of MLB.com

In his storied career as a Jay I don't think Mac's ever had a bigger hit and I've never seen a crowd go so crazy at Rogers Centre until I stare into the potrait of Carter's infamous homerun in '93.

If the 2011 season hadn't seen so many comebacks already, Friday night was no exception. I was proud to see the walkoff double from my sixth row seats Tuesday Night against the Yankees, was stunned when the oft-injured Colon shut down the Jays Wednesday night and couldn't have been more thrilled to see Johnny Mac put up a walkoff two-run homerun in the bottom of the eleventh inning!

This was a game where the Jays kept clawing back into it, and Jose Bautista had a monster game, 3-for-3, doubling, tripling, walking twice and hitting his fifth homerun of the season!

A perfect performance by Bautista was also followed up by seven strong innings from Jo Jo Reyes, who Gregg Zaun said recaptured his Spring Training magic as the game went along.

On a side note, I talked to Zaun over Twitter earlier, and he's releasing a clothing line called Zauntourage! I'd say it might be time to line up the beer-guzzling ball team of summer to sport some of that wear. I'll let you know what this guy who hit 50 homeruns in 28 games on my team last year thinks!

And yet, the Jays are still under .500 despite eight comeback wins.

We've already seen the demotion of Cecil and Litsch just nineteen games in.

The return of Morrow nears though....the same Brandon Morrow that shut down the Tampa Bay Rays last year in the fourth greatest pitching performance in the modern era of baseball with a one-hit seventeen strikeout performance that will go down with the ages.

And most of all, I'd like to apologize for not blogging lately- it's been a hell of a ride through the smartphone and tablet world lately and I write for some big names...but here's where it all started.

And make sure you catch Drunk Jays Fans' show where Andrew Stoeten continues to make an ass out of himself.

Maybe the more he makes an ass out of himself, the more the Jays will produce late inning magic!

Seems to be working, anyways.

Jays Face Felix Hernandez!

2011-04-11T21:39:00.000-04:00

As nobody's been posting this season on the blog really since Escobar walked off and we all went fucking crazy!

The Jays had steamrolled to a 5-2 start under a Jayson Nix clutch homerun.

But we know how quickly that winning mark could be completely erased tonight as 2010's Cy Young Award Winner Felix Hernandez takes the mound for the Seattle Mariners.

This comes after a tough 14-inning loss on Saturday Night followed by whiffing at the plate 15 times courtesy of Weaver in a 3-1 loss in which Jo-Jo Reyes turned in eight great innings.

Have you noticed how much the Jays defense sucks this year?

I count....many unearned runs.

Shape up, or ship out.

That's what my daddy used to say.

It doesn't matter if Felix Hernandez is on the mound.

Jays Walkoff in Extras, Escobar's Two-Run Shot....

2011-04-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

Rajai Davis set up the eventual game winning blast by Yunel Escobar off former rival reliever Grant Balfour who couldn't get a heater past him as Escobar drove it over the wall in right field into the A's bullpen where Balfour had emerged from.

Escobar's two-run shot ended a game that saw the Jays fall into an early 5-0 hole dug by Jo Jo Reyes.

The Jays managed to battle back for four runs in the sixth inning, sparked by a Rajai Davis double.

Adam Lind was also 2-3 in the 7-6 effort that took ten innings to play.

Jose Bautista will not play in the Oakland Series due to a newborn child, and the Blue Jays must rely on old incumbents like Adam Lind and Aaron Hill to pick up the slack as the combination of Riveria and Encarncnion have struggled in the early going.

The Jays could have been 4-0 in this 3-1 start, but they failed to bring down Minnesota's bullpen Sunday afternoon in a game that the Jays had several chances to get closer and send the game to extra innings.

The Jays bullpen has now allowed just two runs in 15 innings of work.

The Offensive Recap of a 13-3 Opening Night Spanking Over The Twins

2011-04-02T11:49:00.000-04:00

In his debut with the Blue Jays, Raiji Davis made a great first impression, legging out an infield single, nearly getting picked off but somehow sliding back in safely, and then partnering with Yunel Escobar in a double-steal that set up four first inning runs for the Blue Jays.

Jose Bautista and Adam Lind went back-to-back in the fifth inning, and J.P. Arencibia hit two homeruns and had a triple, while driving in five runs.

Edwin Encarncion hit the ball hard all night long but was limited to one line-drive single. Aaron Hill doubled after two of his option years were declined, and Snider managed to finally get his first hit of the season after reaching base on an error and two walks in his first three appearences to the plate.

Newcomer Juan Riveria was denied a hit, but did walk.

On a related note, John McDonald turned a beautiful double play late in the game that sealed any chance the Twins had of making a late comeback!

OPENING NIGHT BOYS!!

2011-04-01T19:30:00.001-04:00

I predict a 5-3 Jays win.

Romero: 6 IP 2 ER 5 K 7 H 1 BB

my 2011 predictions

2011-03-31T19:49:00.002-04:00

Here is how I see the divisions playing out this year:
(*** = wild card winner)

AL EAST
Red Sox
Yankees***
Blue Jays
Rays
Orioles

AL CENTRAL
White Sox
Twins
Tigers
Royals
Indians

AL WEST
Angels
Athletics
Rangers
Mariners

NL EAST
Braves
Phillies***
Marlins
Mets
Nationals

NL CENTRAL
Reds
Cardinals
Brewers
Astros
Cubs
Pirates

NL WEST
Giants
Rockies
Padres
Dodgers
Diamondbacks

AL Playoffs
Red Sox over Angels
White Sox over Yankees

Red Sox over White Sox

NL Playoffs
Phillies over Giants
Braves over Reds

Phillies over Braves

World Series
Phillies over Red Sox

I am basing this off a healthy-ish season from the Phillies, otherwise I have the Red Sox over the Giants

I'M BAAAACCCCKKK!!!!

2011-03-31T19:29:00.002-04:00

For those who were reading this blog a couple seasons ago, I wrote under the name "Bubbles." I have been itching for most of the offseason to get back to blogging, and then I decided to stop the procrastination and get back here. I will be back posting my POV, which tend to differ from the masses (ie putting E5 back at 3rd base) as well as fantasy baseball tips and updates. If you have any questions about your fantasy baseball team, I am your guy. Just make a comment under my posts and I'll be making a fantasy baseball post or two a week, so yours is bound to be responded to.

Man it's good to be back :)

It's Opening Day!

2011-03-31T12:07:00.000-04:00

"It's Opening Day, the grandest day in sports, better than the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby and The Masters all rolled into one, and sorry Jerry Jones, but the NFL doesn't have anything that even comes close.' Jim Reeves, ESPN

Edwin Encarnacion Will Surprise You This Season.

2011-03-30T06:47:00.001-04:00

The season's just around the corner.

And yet every fan was up in arms about Edwin Encarnacion, famously known as E5 starting the season at third base?

Do you not see the potential of EE, who has come into Spring Training 13-14 pounds lighter, a much better defender at third base and has smacked homeruns in Spring Training suggesting that he may be a threat to hit 40 homeruns because he hit 21 in just 367 plate appearances last season.

Battered by injuries the last two seasons, Encarnacion comes back healthy. You saw what a healthy Vernon Wells did last year after three injury riddled seasons, belting 31 homeruns hitting behind the homerun king Jose Bautista for most of the season.

For anyone who's watched the Blue Jays, they should know that despite Jose Bautista splitting time between third base and right field, he was up there with the best in outfield assists last season with a cannon of an arm that might be the best in the game.

Bautista is a five-tool player whose defense didn't look as good at third base during the Spring versus right field, which is where he can serve as a better defender with that great arm. It's a position that requires someone to have that as they have to throw across the diamond to third base oftentimes.

This team may be making small sacrifices at first base with Adam Lind and third base with Encarnacion, but they're inserting another huge power bat in the lineup. And we've seen stretches of what a healthy Edwin can do. Remember how he ripped 5 homeruns in a series against Arizona last year? He was right up there with Jose Bautista in September 2009, belting homeruns off September pitching.

The difference was that Bautista managed to turn himself into the most feared hitter in the American League East, while Edwin battled injuries and had a mediocre season, but he's determined to change that this year, and showing up 20 pounds lighter certainly proves that he wants to be in the major leagues this time around.

It's A Team Headed For A Great Offensive Season, At Least.

2011-03-28T22:49:00.000-04:00

People have tried to warn me that Spring Averages don't count for anything.

But there was a story on Raiji Davis and the fact that he stole 50 bases in Oakland last season. I read an article that talked about Davis being the real deal and the fact that Hitting Coach Dwayne Murphy saw his potential. So did GM Alex Anthopolous.

Davis responded nicely. He went 5-for-5 in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, doubling twice and tripling to go with his four homeruns during the Spring. He brings power, speed, defensive ability, and could be a doubles and triples machine all year out of the leadoff hole. The complete package.

A package that will complement number two hole man Yunel Escobar or Aaron Hill.

One that will set it up for the homerun king of 2010, Jose Bautista and his 54 long bombs.

And there's no signs of Bautista slowing down.

He looks like he's come into Spring as an even more rounded hitter, batting close to .400 with 3 homeruns, despite missing some games due to groin tightness.

With Escobar and Hill also hitting .350 and .400-ish respectively to go along with above .300 averages from Snider and Lind, the team looks poised to do well up and down the lineup.

Even Juan Riveria has hit .370ish.

And Edwin Encarncnion has shown flashes of power, belting 4 or 5 homeruns during the Spring.

Everyone had such a good Spring Training that Brett Lawrie, despite hitting nearly .400 and playing solid third base all season after being acquired in a trade for Shaun Marcum was sent down to the minors. The No. 2 prospect in all of baseball.

It's just a question of whether or not the Jays pitching is good enough to get through six or seven innings on a nightly basis as this team may have to rely on a deep bullpen to keep them in games long enough to break out the long ball and win the game in '93 style.

The Charlie Sheen Exclusive

2011-03-13T19:49:00.002-04:00

Sheen is giving us history lessons while rambling in an unbelievably poetic style only understandable to the few that had been able to understand all the changes in the past little while in the world.

It coincides with the Millenial Generation, born between 1981 and 1999 that is entering the workforce and making an incredible impact as these people in their teens to the age of thirty are beginning to have a tremendous impact on the world.

I always think back to crazy, seemingly drugged out stars, and one that strikes me in particular is Courtney Love.

You have to remember Courtney Love knew Kurt Cobain.

I think Cobain had reached his Nirvana and Courtney Love just couldn't understand.

So from Smashing Pumpkins to Nirvana, Courtney Love fell apart.

Celebrities are celebrities because they networked better than everyone else, they caught more big breaks because they had more talent than other people. They were creative enough to get heard- I've heard people say it's the thank you economy, the creative economy as we get out of the Great Recession and move forward in a chaotic world that seems to twist and turn at every corner.

At the end of the day, they're just people like you and me.

Sheen sees the future, and we have no idea how accurate he is when he rants from 1843 to 2077 in ten seconds, but when you're the voice that everyone will hear, you must say big things and do things in a way that will catch people's attention.

Sure, it's sad that it has to come from Charlie Sheen because of all the things he's done, but when you party that hard and you're that famous you're directly connected to the people who are influencing change in the world through popular culture.

Popular culture has always predicted the future in North America, and it comes out of California, where the infamous Silicon Valley is, the tech hotbed of North America.

Charlie Sheen's pretty crazy, but he's also rational and reasonable due to the chaos in the world. And someone who's done a lot of drugs has a lot of chaos in his world so that's why it's easier for him to formulate an opinion because he's lived through chaos of his own.

You have to remember Sheen was part of the hit show Spin City in '96 to '02 where the mayor's office had to control the media world.

While Sheen was on Two and a Half Men over eight long seasons, he quickly became what is known as the entertainment "spin" of the media world, dominating headlines, winning a crazy amount of awards and recognition and being the number one ranked show in North America.

The only difference was that instead of it being the fake Spin City where Sheen was part of the spin, he actually had become the spin in real life.

The digital media world, which had finally reached its tipping point with the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets had embraced Sheen and that's all that mattered. Sheen became the number one trend of 2011 as of March.

He was this embodiment of change, an asshole that stood in the way and said, look world, I own you.

I know we've all pretty much now embraced the digital media world, but will Charlie Sheen last in a media world that is becoming increasingly mobile, where voices become more important than videos once more?

Think back to the infamous dotcom bubble sparked by the invention of the website in 1996 that never totally came to fruitition by the time the bubble collapsed. Spin City resembled exactly those times, that whoever was the spin of their industry was having a hell of a time.

Sheen always had a hell of a time, didn't he? And it never seemed to matter how many drugs he did, because he was on the longest hot streak of his life- when you're ahead of the curve in a bubble and you're just waiting for it to catch up to you, it's a crazy feeling.

Some people's version of the future in the dotcom bubble never quite came to fruitition until social media hit the tipping point, sparking a Middle East revolutionary uprising.

An inter-connected world full of inter-connected devices sparks new possibilities once imagined in the dotcom bubble that ended a decade ago.

And that's all Sheen's trying to say.

He's just trying to get you to wake up and realize it, because the famous people in the world have already realized it.

It's the tiger blood that Tiger Woods first brought to the show when he destroyed at the 1997 Masters, maybe?

How To Get a Sold Out Rogers Centre/Skydome this season.

2011-03-12T14:12:00.002-05:00

FAN 590 Primetime Sports Host Bob McCown has two saving graces: football and baseball. One of the great baseball insiders Toronto has to go alongside baseball visionaries like Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopolous.

It's incredible how good Alan Ashby and Jerry Howarth are on the FAN 590 broadcasts, it's like baseball was always a game to catch on the radio because the speed of the game was slow enough that you could understand exactly what was going on.

So many people listen to Jays games on the radio or watch them on television and those numbers have never been higher.

Everyone asks well, why isn't the dome full?

Well, for starters there are 81 games played over the course of a season at Rogers Centre, and that means you would have to sell over 4 million seats a season.

In the glory days of the Blue Jays, the Rogers Centre, back then known as SkyDome always sold out from 1989 to 1993.

McCown said on the radio once that he would go to Windows Restaurant, the one place you could see the game through the glass but you couldn't hear the sounds of the game. He said that in those days the Dome was just a scene that everyone went to, it wasn't because they were a baseball fan.

I know that Beeston has alluded to the fact that he wishes the game on the field would sell itself, but the reality is that kids these days just aren't into baseball. So you have to sell it as a scene.

If you look at all the Jays hats around Toronto, wearing one means that you're either a fan or you're following a hot trend and it's become a popular staple of Toronto because they are the only respected professional sports franchise in terms of achievements alongside the Toronto Rock which dominated the National Lacrosse League over a number of years. It's also because it signals that you're from Toronto and you have style. Toronto, unlike pretty much any other city in the country will only do things that are a hot trend. If you're not doing some hot, the cool kids will say you're an outcast. That's why Toronto has always been regarded as the bully of Canada by those who live outside the nation's economic engine.

So the Jays must become the scene. Their personalities must be so much larger than life. And once the marketing department figures out to solve the problem of so many people aged 15-35 known as the walkup, last minute crowd buying tickets by the thousands creating huge lines, the scene may change.

I forgot to mention for comedic purposes, Windows Restaurant is also a hotel. So if you want to find a way to still listen to sound, find yourself people who are staying at the hotel, go upstairs with them, open the window facing the Dome. It just requires a little thing called social skills, which I'm sure you've got the balls to appropriate, right, mate?

Roberto Alomar used to stay in that hotel all the time. He lived so close to the park that he could be frequently seen all over the Rogers Centre.

It's like touching holy baseball ground but at the same time you just have to remember at the end of the day they were just people, extraordinary people who were amazing at playing baseball, or devising strategies for success, and so on and so forth.

As much credit that goes to the players also has to go to the organization and the brains of Anthopolous and Beeston. If anyone's ever heard the story of Anthopolous and the decade it took him to finally become GM, you'd be inspired in a heartbeat.

It's a Four Team Race in the AL East: The Jays Could Be On Top.

2011-03-05T20:19:00.000-05:00

Under John Farrell, Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopolous' watch, the Jays in 2011 will stop at nothing to make all the neccessary moves to make the playoffs.

It's a talented young team with the likes of young players like AAA Rookie of the Year J.P. Arencibia who earned MVP honours in the PCL last season and his major league debut hit two homeruns.

Brett Lawrie has already put up a solid spring in Dunedin, including a three-run homer in todays contest, who was acquired in the Shaun Marcum deal. The Blue Jays added speedster Raiji Davis who stole 50+ bases in Oakland last season. With that, they also have Corey Patterson and Scott Posenedik to round out a very speedy bench that could also feature Juan Riveria and Edwin Enc at times, depending on how many pitchers and offensive players the Jays take back to Canada to face Minnesota on April 1st.

A solid young rotation led by Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil, both coming off solid years, and despite the departure of the gutsy Marcum, they still have rookie sensation Kyle Drabek, a returning Jesse Litsch who looks better than ever coming back from Tommy John, and who can forget, the flame-thrower, Brandon Morrow. Scott Richmond and Marc Rezypinski can be the long men out of the bullpen who can fill in the stop gaps when needed and keep the team in the ball game before turning it over to a really strong bullpen that was bolstered in the offseason.

The Jays will once again turn to Casey Janssen, David Purcey and Jason Frasor, but they also bolstered their bullpen by picking up Frank Francisco and former Minnesota closer Jon Rauch, who at 6'10 is possibly one of the most intimidating men on the mound.

From the offensive side of things, the departure of Vernon Wells may not even be felt considering Lawrie and Arencibia are strong candidates to win rookie of the year, Travis Snider is entering his golden third season, Jose Bautista looks like he could have a repeat of last season when he belted 54 homeruns, and Aaron Hill and Adam Lind can't possibly struggle at the plate for two years in a row, can they?

Not to mention the ever difficult to get out Juan Riveria, and an Edwin Encarncnion that belted 22 homeruns in just over 300 at-bats, could be on pace for 40 over a full season.

Toronto's lineup was packed with power up and down last season, and still will be, but they'll also feature more speed on the basepaths, and as a result will score more runs and tire out more 'pens, making the AL East a death sentence for any team in the Major Leagues.

We're Just Doing A Test For Our Real Job.

2010-11-26T10:13:00.001-05:00

Does Jose Bautista Have a Realistic Shot at Winning American League MVP?

2010-11-12T00:23:00.001-05:00

Boy, the accolades for Jose Bautista just keep piling up this off-season. Bautista is now an American League Silver Slugger award winner and is garnering considerable attention for MVP having won the Hank Aaron award with a major-lead leading 54 homeruns.

You also have to think that Jose Bautista might be up for a gold glove out of right field or at third base in the American League but the chances of that are slim because he split so much time between the two positions over a full season of play.

While Major League Baseball has added a few different new awards to win over the last couple of decades, another I'd really like to see come is for the super-utility player award for both the American League and the National League. Jose Bautista would have been in line to win that too in the American League.

What's so incredible is that Jose Bautista could end up winning the MVP. He's gained steam by winning two huge awards and with Cabrera and Hamilton both spending time on the shelf at some point in the season, Bautista could garner enough MVP votes to win American League MVP.

He's my prediction for 2010 American League MVP and I think he captured the whole baseball world outside of Toronto with his remarkable assault on the outfield walls of the Rogers Centre where he hit most of his 54 bombs.

I think he did more than Josh Hamilton who led Texas to the World Series in a losing effort and Miguel Cabrera who was more so a comeback player after his struggles with the bottle cost the Tigers a playoff shot in 2009 and slightly destroyed his reputation as a result.

But if Bautista comes through with enough votes, it'll be at the expense of the Rangers not winning the World Series, and Miguel Cabrera's tarnished reputation.

All I can say is that it could be a close vote, or maybe I'm wrong and it's Josh Hamilton's.

2011 Jays Wild Card Favourite in the American League.

2010-11-09T00:43:00.000-05:00

I said it here first. And the reason why I say this is because the Toronto Blue Jays are on the brink of making a giant splash in the free agent market having finally solidified their coaching staff for the first season of bringing back the franchise to its championship ways under new GM Alex Anthopolous and the esteemed guidance of Paul Beeston.

Manny Ramirez was reportedly seen at NFL Canada this weekend between the Bears and Bills. It would seem apparent that the always controversial Manny would want to play under Farrell. Whether this is something Anthopolous is considering or it is something that Manny is trying to entertain into Anthopolous' mind is another matter.

The Blue Jays have also become reportedly interested in former second baseman Orlando Hudson. If Hudson were brought back to the organization he would be reunited with Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells and would really bring a lot of character with him along with better defensive skills than Aaron Hill. After last year's dismal performance where Hill only hit around .200 with almost 30 homeruns despite injuries, it's a good idea to have a backup plan in the O-Dog, who hasn't played a full season since his first season with Arizona due to logjams at his position on the various contenders he was on. The 33-year old would bolster a bench that already features Edwin Encarncnion and John McDonald among Dewayne Wise and backup catcher Jose Molina.

The bullpen does remain a question, but a dark horse may be the long forgotten Dustin McGowan, two and a half years removed from shoulder surgery and a variety of complications that could never see him pitch in the big leagues again. However if McGowan, much like Kerry Wood, could come back and be the team's closer, what a contribution that could be. I forsee Scott Richmond as the long man out of the pen, which will also be strengthened by the return of Scott Downs, Casey Janssen, and a promoted flamethrower Josh Roeincke with the possibility of Dirk Hayhurst returning from injury. So bear in mind that despite the fact that the Jays have already parted ways with Gregg who blew over a dozen games this season, they still have a lot of depth that even includes David Purcey. I would guess that Toronto will try to add one or two arms and figure out the rest through low-risk signings of invites to Spring Training.

Jays Reject Kevin Gregg, sign catcher Miguel Olivio.

2010-11-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

The Jays were once again busy today, rejecting the two-year option of Kevin Gregg which was over 10 million dollars. Despite Gregg's 37 saves, alot of them were in rocky fashion, and it is really hard to agree that Gregg was a reliable arm out of the bullpen. If he wasn't on such a short leash he would have blown more games, and didn't exactly instill confidence in a manager. I think the picture above demonstrated exactly the kind of pitcher Gregg was, borderline overpowering with good stuff when his arm was rested. But he still had to rely on hitting corners because his stuff wasn't deceptive. The picture displayed one of those nights when he was just off the mark like most nights and just couldn't close it out.

Meanwhile to shade away from last year's negativity of Kevin Gregg, the Blue Jays made a counter move in signing free-agent Miguel Olivio with a chance to pick up his option of 2.5 million or buy it out for 500,000 to renegotiate what I would presume to be an incentive-laden contract. However, with Arencibia blasting over 30 homeruns in Triple A and winning MVP honours, Jose Molina already re-signed to a one-year deal, the Jays are effectively saying goodbye to free-agent John Buck who certainly wowed the Blue Jays by hitting 20 or more homeruns, and putting up a stellar .280ish average while handling a young pitching staff very well.

Rumors continue to swirl that the Jays may sign Manny Ramirez, trade for Albert Pujols or Jonathan Papelbon and believe me, Alex Anthopolous has something brewing. Because with the Winter Meetings just around the corner you can guarantee Anthopolous will make a splash unlike the non-time committal J.P. Ricciardi who always flew back and forth from Boston. Working closely with Beeston doesn't hurt either, he effectively built the franchise into a World Series winner.

So what's Anthopolous going to do next? You never know. So stay tuned, because once again, you never know.

Pujols to Toronto? Trade Rumors Swirl the Blue Jays.

2010-11-03T02:35:00.001-04:00

http://whotheman.com/blog/123579/Why-Major-League-Baseball-needs-Albert-Pujols-to-sign-with-the-Toronto-Blue-Jays

The article goes on about how Toronto has a sinking fan base and might be doomed to repeat what Montreal went through if they don't make the playoffs soon. I'm shocked at how hard the commissioner is lobbied in this article to make the trade for Pujols happen. The commissioner has zero control over this matter- and has even said that he wants to expand the baseball playoffs for as early as next season, so I think that would bode well for Toronto.

Well, Bob McCown also spoke on the FAN 590 about the possibility of a deal involving Shaun Marcum and Albert Pujols. I just have to say this though- Beeston is best friends with McCown, and even though Andrew Krystal is one of the most annoying morning show hosts of all time, at least he salutes McCown on the FAN 590. On that radio station there is also another personality called Greg Brady who believes that no one under the age of 35 cares about baseball. I'd say that's not true.....that's the majority of the demographic that's at the game. So what you have to do is make baseball cool again, and the Jays have done this with the retro wear that you can buy almost anywhere, but lets face it, the on the field product of baseball doesn't sell itself. It's in my personal experience that anyone over the age of 30 isn't going to know anything about marketing anymore- incredible drastic shift that is unparalleled in the industry and while Toronto took some steps forward last year in line with Major League Baseball's social media policy, there's so much more that to it.

Then again, I don't blame you if you don't believe the trade hype. There have also been sources that suggest perhaps John Farrell is also bringing former and current Red Sox players Papelbon, Ramirez and Varitek along with him to play next season. As much as Varitek is a legendary catcher, he might be better suited to coach at this stage, and I really believe Manny would be nice for his OBP, and Paplebon would certainly still be an effective closer, despite having regressed a bit.

What do you think?

MANNY IN TORONTO?

2010-10-25T20:47:00.001-04:00

"In 18 seasons in the majors, Ramirez has a .313 average with 555 homers and 1,830 runs batted in. The 12 time All-Star believes that playing as a designated hitter in the American League could extend his career a little more"- (ESPN.COM)

John Farrell was named Blue Jays manager earlier today by the organization as announced on the FAN 590's Andrew Krystal morning show. Manny has expressed a desire to play for Farrell. Ramirez believes that Manny can be Manny in playoff-contending Toronto. With Manny Ramirez, it would already solidify an amazing offensive lineup that features the likes of homerun king Jose Bautista and a team that hit over 250 homeruns during the regular season.

Toronto's pitching isn't bad either with five young studs in Kyle Drabek, Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero, Shaun Marcum and Brandon Morrow. They'll also have the likes of MREZ and the lone Canuck Scott Richmond who is coming back off surgery but never got to pitch in the major leagues in 2010 but had a great rehab stint going 4-1 with a 1.98 era.

If Richmond and REZ can take some spot starts to take the heat off a young pitching staff during the regular season, Farrell could look like a genius in his first major league season as manager.

It wouldn't hurt to have Manny Ramirez join the hard-hitting Blue Jays either.

But we'll have to see what happens in 2011, as there always is the matter of Tampa Bay, Boston and New York always in front of Toronto at the forefront of the East since the 1992 and 1993 World Series wins.