Well, if you can’t leak em join em eh JP. Man, Ken Rosenthal over at Fox Sports must be pissed! I can’t wait to see JP’s first coverage of an Adam Dunn game. The Good news for JP is that when is reporting information he can lie at will. We all know that it isn’t a lie if the teller knows the truth. JP should start baseballbuzz.com. Word from JP on his joining ESPN as a baseball analyst is that it’s part of a 5 year, I mean 6 year, I mean 7 year, ooops 8 year plan.

The good news is that JP hasn’t lost his humble ways:

“I look forward to sharing my perspective of the game, which has many layers and has been built over the years through my various roles,” Ricciardi said in a statement.”

Confirmation that JP’s favorite words remain, I, me and my.

Apparently JP’s best buddy is Matt Millen.

The globe and mail had the story first, at least that I saw and you can see their report here.

Great article on espn.com by Jerry Crasnick banging the drum for former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar to be a first ballot hall of fame “inducty”.

I don’t know my baseball history all that well, but I can tell you that I am fairly certain no better player at their position has ever suited up for the Jays (excluding any player who was only a Blue Jay for a cup of coffee). No one earned their stripes in Toronto as Robbie did.

The stories on the guy off the field were the stuff of legends, but who cares, the guy could play.

I hope politics don’t get in the way, and I hope Robbie gets in.

TSM

The article is here

This is from today’s Toronto Sun, in a classy move from ex-Blue Jay Roy Halladay.

And really, it’s Toronto that has a lot to be thankful for. Not for the overall performance of the Jays, of course, but for Halladay’s effort and consistency over the majority of 12 years with the team. At least the fans had a reason to watch the Blue Jays play, at least with Roy on the mound. And there was always a special buzz in the often-quiet Dome when Halladay pitched, regardless of Toronto’s (likely low) spot in the standings or (non-existent) place in the playoff picture.

When Roy was on the mound, you were in for a clinic. He always knew what pitch to throw and constantly carved up the league’s best hitters. Patience got them nothing but 1-2 counts, while aggressive swingers were in for an easy ground out. Innings were quick and the bullpen had a nice view of the action. That’s because they generally had the night off, save perhaps for the closer. Complete games were ordinary, with others crossing into unbelievable – take Halladay’s 1-0, 10-inning win over Detroit a couple years ago.

So while one of Toronto’s most storied athletes moves on, Blue Jays fans should be thanking him. Yes, we’re screwed, but he did his best. The incoming prospects have a chance to legitimately improve this team, but the trade will linger over the Jays. Fans will cringe while this young team rebuilds, while cheering on Halladay as he pitches Philadelphia into the World Series.

At least I hope they do.

If so, Toronto will have a big-time sports star (no, not Mo Peterson) leave on good terms for the first time in a long time. We all know how Vince Carter worked out, while even Mats Sundin was booed by a portion of Leaf nation who felt his no-trade clause hurt the franchise. If Chris Bosh leaves, many will resent him… and so on.

So it’ll be nice to have a guy in Halladay who goes on to be successful, while remaining attached to the Blue Jays organization. When he comes to town, half the Dome will probably cheer for the Phillies, and when he goes into the Hall, Toronto will share in the moment.

But it still won’t be easy to stomach this for the next while…

According to media reports, including the Toronto Sun’s Bob Elliott, one of the players involved in the Roy Halladay deal has failed their physical.

Initially, it was thought to be Canadian pitcher Phillippe Aumont, who is heading to Philly from Seattle. Now reports say that it’s outfielder Michael Taylor, who will be heading to Oakland via Toronto. The thinking here is the deal gets done anyway, unless the problem is serious. And if top prospect Kyle Drabek is the guy with the problem, it’s possible the whole thing falls apart.

Still, Philadelphia’s GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is in love with Roy and he’ll do everything in his power to see this deal through. Likewise, the Jays will be out of options if this trade turns sour.

There’s simply too much at stake to kill this deal, but things don’t look as clear as they did this morning.

Law will be discussing the 3-way Roy Halladay deal with Seattle and Philly, along with Toronto’s rumoured follow-up deal with Oakland to land Brett Wallace.

He’s the guy I trust most to give an informed opinion, and this is a must-listen for anyone looking for the latest on this situation.

I know I can sometimes be too in love with nostalgia, however this time it’s different. Rogers Sportsnet’s hiring of former Toronto Blue Jays player, manager and broadcaster Buck Martinez is nothing short of a homerun for fans of the ball club. Where hiring of Cito, and trying to bring back others from better days was cheered in this corner, the reality is, for the most part it was nothing more than an attempt to sell tickets to a team in dire need of a boost in revenue column.

This, however is different. Martinez is good at what he does and is not simply being hired to draw fans cause we used to like him. His tenure as manager wasn’t overly positive and therefore his hire should be viewed on the merits as hiring a good analyst for the product that has been badly missing since he left.

We (or at least me) are usually quick to slam the locals for that which they have done, this time they deserve all the credit.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

“We wanted to trade Roy and Roy wanted to be traded (in the summer), as he does now. I think there’s no secret that he would like to be traded,”

I don’t care if it’s true or not, but can someone please tell Montgomery. Burns’s boy Smithers to crawl back into this little hole and shut the hell up. If we want to hear from JP Ricciardi, we will let you know.

I have little respect for the guy as a GM and even less for him now that he is out of the game.

Baseball has a problem and it needs to be addressed immediately.

I know among baseball people this is unpopular, but I don’t care about baseball people right now. I know human error has and always will be apart of the game, but sometimes, humans really screw up.

Even with the limited use of instant replay that baseball currently uses, the umpires are getting calls wrong. Not only are the umps getting them wrong, they are terribly wrong; and Bud Selig seems happier than a pig in slop about this.

Selig, or “Captain Reaction” as I sometimes refer to him as, has tried his hardest to keep the use of technology out of baseball.

But give Selig some credit; he has talked to baseball people about the issue. You know these people; they share the same views as the Commissioner.

“The more baseball people I talk to, there is a lot of trepidation, and I think their trepidation is fair,” Selig told reporters. “Affecting the game on the field is not something I really want to do.”

Fair points, but baseball has made on the field changes in the past. Lowering the mound following Bob Gibson’s 1968 season? Adding teeth to their steroid policy after allowing the problem to run rampant for years, only after Jose Canseco decided he needed some money. I’m just saying that change isn’t a bad thing.

For change to happen, Selig has to open up his circle and not just talk strictly to baseball people. He must talk to other commissioners like Roger Goddell of the NFL, whose league uses replay on a challenge system for a ton of calls. How about Gary Bettman of the NHL whose league uses replay for goal calls, high sticks on goals and for determining suspensions. Or possibly David Stern of the NBA who’s league uses it for buzzer beaters or calling a made shot a two or three pointer.

“I think my position is clear,” Selig told the New York Times. “This is a game of pace, I’m worried about that.”

Excuse me? I love baseball, but I think I saw a snail roll by a baseball game once and comment on how slow the game was going. What would take more time? A replay official paging the on-field umps to take a second look, or a manager getting out of the dugout and in the face of one of the umpires?

The replay might take less time than Lou Piniella kicking his hat around the diamond. It would just be far less entertaining.

Sports fans are calling for Selig to react to the poor umpiring. Come on Captain Reaction…React! It’s what you’re best at.

Are you serious?

That was my reaction upon reading Bob Elliott’s Vernon Wells-for-Milton Bradley story this weekend. In case you missed it:

“The Chicago Cubs would like to — have to — deal disgruntled outfielder Milton Bradley. And one player they are eyeing as a target destination is the Blue Jays, with centre fielder Vernon Wells going to the Cubs in return.

“It’s early on, but we think this one has some legs,” said one Cubs official. “But they aren’t the only team we are talking with.”

Bradley, 31, who was suspended for the remainder of the season by the Cubs on Sept. 20, has two years and $21 million US remaining on his contract.

Wells has six years left on his contract extension, $107 million remaining, including the $8.5-million final instalment of his signing bonus, which is due in March. Team president Paul Godfrey and former general manager J.P. Ricciardi signed Wells to the contract extension.

The Cubs suspended Bradley a day after he criticized the team in a newspaper interview, knocking the organization and saying: “You understand why they haven’t won here in 100 years.”

The Cubs’ idea is to split the difference on monies owed — Wells’ $107 million and Bradley’s $21 million for a difference of $86 million. Each team absorbs $43 million.”

Of course, the Cubs later denied the rumours. Makes sense, considering it would be utter stupidity to trade for Wells. I don’t think I can properly describe the level of desperation needed to make the deal… let’s go over some of the reasons:

1. Wells has the worst contract in Major League Baseball. As outlined above, he’s owed over $100 million dollars. For six years. For a declining player. Wow. Wells has one of the largest contracts in baseball history, up there with Alex Rodriguez, etc… I get a little sick just thinking about it.
2. Wells was absolutely terrible at the plate this season, but I think most fans still don’t realize just how bad he was. Of ALL qualified outfielders in Major League Baseball, Wells was fourth from the bottom in OPS (On-base plus Slugging), ahead of only Garret Anderson, B.J. Upton and Randy Winn. The good news? He wasn’t dead last.
3. Shockingly, Wells was EVEN WORSE in the field. Casual fans assume that Vernon is still above average in centre field, but he’s actually the worst everyday CF in Major League Baseball. Digest that for a minute… Yes, defensively, Vernon Wells is the worst at his position. I could demonstrate this with pretty much any of today’s advanced metrics, and I’ve chosen to go with UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), which has proven to be very accurate. In 2009, Wells finished dead last in UZR… yes, a shocking decline for a former gold glove CF.
4. Unfortunately for Wells, other advanced metrics are just as harsh. RAR (Runs above Replacement) and WAR (Wins above Replacement) can be used to demonstrate a player’s overall value to their team, using both offense and defense. The 2009 statistics show that Vernon Wells was THE FOURTH-WORST PLAYER IN BASEBALL THIS SEASON. Seriously, only Aubrey Huff, Jermaine Dye and Yuniesky Betancourt hurt their teams more. Even funnier (or sad), those four players (Vernon included) were the ONLY four to have NEGATIVE ratings in WAR and RAR. Literally, every other player in baseball had a better season, and that’s absolutely insane. Technically, Wells should have to pay the Jays to let him play, since he sure isn’t contributing to wins. Oh, who was fifth-last on that list? Alex Rios. You can’t make this stuff up.

So, assuming that professional General Managers aren’t complete idiots, it’s safe to say that Vernon Wells cannot be moved. How could anyone justify taking a negative contributor who happens to make more money than almost anyone else? It’s mind-boggling to realize how far Wells has fallen, and I’d like to hope GMs understand the data I’ve just laid out.

That being said, I hope they don’t. Actually, forget everything I just wrote – Please, Cubbies, take Vernon. That Milton Bradley trade would be an early Christmas present… WHO CARES if Bradley’s a headcase. He hit better than Wells last year, and makes half the salary. But really, this isn’t about Bradley. It’s about Vernon Wells, and the fact that he’s untradeable. Yes, even for someone else’s garbage. Sorry, Jays fans, but it’s the truth.

-DL

Bob Elliott reports in today’s Toronto Sun that the Chicago Cubs and Toronto blue jays are talking turkey with Vernon Wells and Milton Bradley swapping uniforms. This would be a huge cost savings for the jays as bradley’s contract is up after the next season (not this coming one)

More later