Often the back page of the Sun sports section is deliberately provocative, and takes liberties with facts. Continuing the recend trend of reasonable reporting from Bob Elliott, today's column stays positive about the many offseason improvements to the Jays' spring training facility and the roster. I love this quote from J.P.:
"Last year we had 22 wins from Walker (10), Miller (nine) and Hendrickson (three), three guys who made $800,000 US combined," Ricciardi said. "And we had 18 from Loaiza (nine), Parris (five) and Carpenter (four), three guys who made $13.5 million combined."
Even I can do that math. OK, the rotation's better; how important is the remade bullpen? As Elliott points out, Escobar, who takes his share of abuse around here for inconsistency, was 38 for 46 in save opportunities, but the rest of the Jays' relievers converted just three of 24 chances. It's not just Jeff Tam and Doug Creek, who can't do much worse than Scott Cassidy and last year's LOOGY parade; there's plenty of AAA depth available if they disappoint, and Aquilino Lopez could be a big plus.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030217082831999