And the talk from Minnesota.....

St. Paul Pioneer Press: "The possibility of the Twins acquiring Toronto outfielder Shannon Stewart appears to have cooled. The Blue Jays are looking for starting pitching, possibly seeking left-hander Kenny Rogers. But the way the Twins' rotation has performed over the past month, the Twins can ill afford to part with a pitcher."

Also, FWIW, Adams and Bush were named player of the week in the Eastern League last week.

As somebody else mentioned, the Twins don't exactly need outfielders.

I think the Star would love a Stewart for Rogers trade. Then, they could sound off on how the Jays are becoming even more white.

I'm wondering whether LA would be a possible destination - they need hitters. And I suppose there's always Oakland.

Of course, the Jays could sweep the Sox and Yanks again, and become buyers instead of sellers...

That deal would not only save the Jays $2.1 million (U.S.), it would allow them to strengthen their starting rotation and legitimately argue that this was an upgrade move and not a selloff.

The Jays would save $2.1M in Stewart's salary but would be taking on nearly $700K in Rogers'. So, the deal only saves $1.4M.

This is more shoddy work by Geoff Baker. I'm not saying that because of the "White Jays" piece...I've been decidedly mum on that issue since I couldn't care less about it...I'm saying it because I think I've finally been pushed over the edge. When are ANY of the papers finally going to get a real sports writer? When am I going to get someone I look forward to reading every day?

Thanks to this site, I've actually given up reading the papers. I find I'll only go there if it's referenced here first.

Speaking of which, did anyone catch the piece on SABRMetrics on the National last night?

Eddie, last night Jason and Justin B. mentioned that TV segment in our fantasy league thread, which I realize not everyone reads. Here's how I responded:

a brief appearance by Bill James (or was it Coach?)

Even I have to admit the resemblance; it's a lot better than looking like Bud Selig.

I watched most of the CBC piece, after a friend called to alert me it was on, but thought it was a terrible segment by the usual standards of The National. The attempted humourous ending failed miserably. Keith Law was portrayed as some shadowy figure, reluctant to divulge his secrets, and his years as a respected author at Prospectus were omitted from his background. Including interviews with the participants in a fantasy baseball draft struck me as a deliberate ploy to denigrate the success of the Boston, Toronto and Oakland front offices by comparing them to Roto geeks. Using Joe Carter's famous HR as the conclusion suggested that James, Epstein, Ricciardi and Beane are somehow barking up the wrong tree, while conveniently ignoring the AL standings.

It was obvious that this piece had been in the can since spring training, so perhaps the recent kerfuffle created by the Star made someone at CBC think it was timely. They were wrong.

Damn, I'm visitor # 109,999.

Anyway, regardless of being 'buyers' or 'sellers' I think Stewart will get traded shortly, which should get Phelps into the lineup on a regular basis. That's close to being a push offensively, and probably an upgrade defensively.

If the Jays are sellers they'll be more likely to get prospects. If the Jays are buyers they'll more likely get players to help the club now.

Coach - that's pretty much what I thought. The Keith Law stuff was weird as was his lame take on SABRmetrics for journalists. I was frustrated to hear Delgado's response to the SABRmetrics question as well. Of all the players in the league, I thought for sure he'd be turned on to Bill James.

Still, I was glad to see it on in the first place - I recently finished Moneyball and rushed right out to buy the Bill James book immediately after. I'm just now starting to get swept up in SABRmetric geekdom. If you've got a recommended reading list apart from baseballprimer, let me know.

http://www.baseballblog.blogspot.com
As much as Stewart is not a huge upgrade for us and as much as RF is already crowded as hell throughout the organization, I really wouldn't mind a Mohr and Rogers for Stewart deal.

Rogers is a nice pitcher, but he's gone after this year and he's nearing 40, and Mohr is (in my opinion) a good 4th outfielder who is already 27. Meanwhile, Stewart would almost certainly leadoff, causing Jacque Jones to take a place where his low OBP/high SLG combo would be better used, and Stewart would be a slight upgrade over Kielty.

I assume Shannon is a FA after this year, right? So, once he leaves, we would be without Mohr, meaning Cuddyer could find playing time a lot easier.

On another unrelated note, Pete Walker started for Syracuse last night, allowing two hits and an earned run in two innings of work. Presumably, he'll get another chance in the Toronto rotation if his rehab goes well. Juan Pena, who had looked good saving two games in his first three AAA outings, walked two and gave up a 3-run walkoff homer to take the loss.

Please, no more Kenny Rogers Rheumers. Not another flood of Gambler-sampling.

About the CBC's too-long-on-the-shelf featurette: I thought both Delgado and Hinske were poised midway between putting Tom Alderman on, and responding (perhaps spontaneously,) to his not-too-hidden notions of comedy.

And Coach is not only better-looking than Bill James, but less wary around the eyes.

I just don't believe JP would be interested in Kenny Rogers. Even if JP is going for it this year, trading for Rogers doesn't make any sense -- he's just not very good. Trading Stewart for prospects is a much better alternative, regardless of whether the Jays are looking to contend this year or not.

If you've got a recommended reading list apart from baseballprimer, let me know.

Here's where I frequently head:

I like Neyer's column at ESPN.com. That's what got me started a few years ago, although his statistical analysis isn't as prevelent as it used to be.

Baseball Prospectus is excellent, although a majority of the material is available by subscription only (I'm a satisfied subscriber FWIW)

Aaron Gleeman's blog: http://baseballblog.blogspot.com/ It's frequently Twins oriented, but it's worth it. Today's column on Cameron is an excellent one and representative of his writing.

Rob Neyer and Rany J are big Royals fans and occasionally discuss them (and only the Royals) at http://www.robneyer.com/robrany.html. I've learned a lot of 'below the radar' things from that column.

And of course the Batters Box.

and his years as a respected author at Prospectus were omitted from his background.

i thought there was mention of mr. law's previous employment at a 'fantasy baseball website' (hehehe)... that piece totally missed the most important point: that the team has improved while the budget has been substantially reduced.

The Jays would save $2.1M in Stewart's salary but would be taking on nearly $700K in Rogers'. So, the deal only saves $1.4M.

I understand your frustration, Spicol, but in this case you and Baker are both right. It's a timing thing -- if the deal isn't made until the deadline, your $1.4 million figure is accurate. If it was made today, $2.1 MM sounds about right. The savings would decrease slightly each day.

That said, Rogers would be little more than a short-term rental on a team that frankly, is unlikely to beat the Red Sox and A's for the wild card. Oh, and don't look now, but those are the defending world champs creeping up in the rear-view mirror. I'm not saying wave the white flag just yet, but I'd prefer to get something for Stewart that helps for more than two months, even if it's an unpopular deal with the casual fans.

I've been thinking that Aaron Harang would be the ideal deal here, but maybe with Corey Patterson out for the year a Stewart for Juan Cruz deal could be completed. Cruz can pitch now as a starter or reliever and has some huge upside as a starter. Thoughts? The Cubs have loads of pitching on the big league roster right now and four major SP prospects in their system. I'm sure they can spare us one!

I think the major issue on sending Stewart to the Cubs is that Chicago's major hole is in center. They are covered in the corner outfield spots (Alou/Sosa). I just don't see them thinking that Stewart has the chops to play center.

Don't underestimate the value of a first-round draft pick or supplemental pick (or both) that I assume Shannon Stewart would leave behind as a free agent. It may very well be the case that the best thing to do with Stewart is hold on to him and take the draft pick(s). Of course, you have to account not only for the $1.8 million above major-league minimum that he'll make for the rest of the year, but also the $1-2 million or so that you'd expect to pay out in signing bonus to the draft pick(s).

I'd much rather have the draft pick(s) and 2.5 months of Stewart than Mohr, 2.5 months of Rogers, and ~$3 million. Kenny Rogers is not David Cone, and these aren't the 1992 Jays. They have to pass two good teams to claim either of the playoff spots.

(Of course, Shannon Stewart isn't Jeff Kent, either).

John

I wholeheartedly agree. Unless the Jays get something good when trading Shannon Stewart they might as well not bother. And at this point in his career I don't think Kenny Roger's counts as good.
Kenny Rogers is a only a small upgrade on either Doug Davis, or Tanyon Sturze and will not significantly change the Jay's win/loss total for the year. I suppose you might also get a compensation draft pick out of Kenny Rogers at the end of the season, but then again maybe he'll retire? He's a back end of the rotation guy these days.

Maybe a three way deal? Beltran to Chicago, Stewart to KC (won't look like they're giving up, and they still clear salary after this season) and Cruz to the Jays? I guess the Cubs would have to kick in a solid prospect to the Royals to make it happen, but it looks pretty good to me.

Nothing more than some fantasy managing, I know, but it's fun.
Of course, Santana would still be better but much to Aaron's dismay I think the Twins might want to hold on to that guy ;-)

I understand your frustration, Spicol, but in this case you and Baker are both right. It's a timing thing -- if the deal isn't made until the deadline, your $1.4 million figure is accurate. If it was made today, $2.1 MM sounds about right.

Well, $1.9 if a deal were made today. It's sloppy reporting...no way around it.

Today's [Aaron Gleeman] column on Cameron is an excellent one and representative of his writing.

Given the Wells v. Cameron match-up here at BB earlier in the day, anyone else find this an interesting coincidence?

If you've got a recommended reading list apart from baseballprimer, let me know.

While all the people Pistol suggested are indeed worthy of a look, surely we can't ignore the two finest fantasy correspondents ESPN.com -- nay, the world -- has to offer!

(That's Kent and me, for the any new visitors ... )

Given the Wells v. Cameron match-up here at BB earlier in the day, anyone else find this an interesting coincidence?

Great minds think alike.

Or, for any conspiracy theorists out there, perhaps there is no "Aaron Gleeman" at all, and the ZLC writes "his" blog in our spare time.

http://economics.about.com
Or, for any conspiracy theorists out there, perhaps there is no "Aaron Gleeman" at all, and the ZLC writes "his" blog in our spare time.

Do you also control the british crown and keep the metric system down?

Mike

We Do, We Do!

Thanks again, guys.