I'd love to see just one Jays game on the tube this year (do they EVER play the Mariners?), but I'll settle for the Twins/Royals game, which features the nice pitching match-up of Johan Santana and Jeremy Affeldt.

I hate this inning.

You really don't want to pick up the TSN feed. Rod Black and Pat Tabler have to be up there as the worst pair of broadcasters to ever call a major-league game. I've given up on listening to them at all. Thank goodness for a mute button.

I meant to say that they must be high on the proverbial "top ten list of worst announcing teams".

What's with all these bunt singles already? Hinske will have to play further in if this keeps up.

Death by mosquito bite in the second inning. A very close play at first base on a Paul Konerko roller to shortstop scored Magglio Ordonez, who had walked. A bunt single by Jose Valentin loaded the bases for Joe Crede, whose double-play grounder to short was bobbled by Chris Woodward, resulting in a FC and another run scored. Then, on Sandy Alomar's grounder to short, they got the lead runner, but Kielty couldn't scoop Bordick's low throw to first and another run scored. And then another bunt single by brother Robbie put two runners on again. Finally, Carlos Lee grounded out, but it's 3-0 Chicago.

Groundball pitchers are often only as good as the infield behind them, and as a result, tonight Roy isn't very good. The ChiSox are playing little ball successfully. Now we'll see if the offence can come back for their ace.

Wait, Sean, how are you watching the game?

I never thought I'd miss Delgado's glove.

TSN (Channel 30 locally) is carrying the Jays/White Sox game.

I've given up to get some writing done, and I have called up the CBS Sportsline live scoring in a background window on my desktop.

How is the Twins/Royals game so far?

From what I could see, Konerko was out, and it wasn't especially close.

Free Jorge Sequea! How many balls can Woodward boot in one game?

Woodward's defence is really starting to worry me. Has anyone got any current numbers to bear this out? (Not that I'm particularly comfortable with defensive metrics, mind you.)

Well, Ordonez was definitely safe, so I guess these things even out.

God this sucks.

Chris Woodward: DFL among American League shortstops in fielding percentage and (if you place much value in it) Zone Rating. He's fourth in range factor, which perhaps you could put down to the preponderance of groundballers on the mound. Bottom line, he looks like a pretty lousy defensive shortstop. Mind you, Roy Halladay's been fielding his position as if he had skillets for hands.

If you have the FAN broadcast, tune in during the 4th inning: Michael "Moneyball" Lewis will be in the booth, and will talk about, inter alia, the excised JP Ricciardi chapter.

Mike Riley's strike zone could be licked and stuck on an envelope.

Curse my non-satellite/cable TV package! Oh, hell, curse TV altogether.

Twins/Royals is a nice pitching duel. I'm very impressed with Affeldt (I've seen him before). I know he's been loosely compared to Barry Zito because of his bender, but BZ doesn't have a 98-MPH heater. Wow. Yes, if the Jays can exchange Lidle and Escobar for Affeldt, by all means, they should do it, then use the extra money to sign Millwood.

What the devil is happening in the Jays game?

Death by a thousand cuts?

Buerhle appears to have regained most of his command, too, but he still never strikes anyone out.

I was going to say, with the notable exception of this particular game.

"Michael Lewis: spent a few days with JP, Law, Godfrey researching his book ... JP was infectious with his enthusiasm for this project ... it's incredible what he's achieved here, isn't it? ... players are a lot more replaceable than the market realizes ... the market is wildly inefficient ...you're now on the smart end of trades ..."

RBI double by Delgado scores Kielty. Lewis: "Although sometimes it's fun to have the $17 million guy in your lineup."

"Funny that JP and Beane ever do trades ... they have the same philosophies ... they're always cooking up deals, whether it's between them or with a third party ... some unsuspecting team that's about to get hit."

Wells came home on Wilson's grounder and was out at the plate. But he came up limping on the plate, favouring his ankle, and hobbled directly off the field and into the clubhouse, followed by the trainer. Not good.

For no particular reason, I feel the need to say that the Royals are going to take a huge hit when Carlos Beltran leaves town. He's proving that he is a phenomenal player worthy of a large contract--one which the team is unwilling to pay. Personally, I prefer him to Vernon Wells as the best young CF in the AL. And yes, I'm aware that he's two years Wells' senior.

Lewis: "JP's very funny ... he would call out the salaries of the guys on the field [while watching the game] ... he has an uncanny ability to get into the minds of his players ... calls them his "Fighting Jays" ... he gets very enthusiastic..."

Hinske's liner scored Delgado, and the lead's down to 3-2. "Hinske's another gift by Beane to JP. I'd say JP is actually the only one who's ever gotten the better of Billy in trades." Jayson Werth's groundout ties the game 3-3. Go, Fighting Jays!!

Little-known fact: JP Ricciardi signed Mike Bordick to his first pro contract.

Vernon's back in the dugout, torn pant leg but otherwise appears to be OK. Much better.

So much for the tie game. Home run by Carlos Lee on the first pitch.

I didn't think Vernon would be back out. Good to know his super-powers include super-healing along with levitation.

A nickname is born.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Fighting Jays.

JP is, of course, not the only GM who has gotten the better end of a deal with Billy Beane. I've been meaning to pick up Lewis' book, but these kind of remarks make me a tad leery of his objectivity vis-a-vis Beane's performance as a GM. Which is certainly laudable, I might add, but not without its faults.

http://economics.about.com
JP is, of course, not the only GM who has gotten the better end of a deal with Billy Beane. I've been meaning to pick up Lewis' book,
but these kind of remarks make me a tad leery of his objectivity vis-a-vis Beane's performance as a GM. Which is certainly
laudable, I might add, but not without its faults.

How many other deals do you think Beane has "lost"? The Ted Lilly trade and possibly Little G for Mabry (which was an obvious dump) are the only ones that come immediately to mind for me.

We'll have to wait and see whether Beane won or lost the Durazo deal. Right now, he's ahead of the pack. Here are how all the principals in that deal are currently doing:

Erubiel Durazo
.275/.402/.460, 12 HR, 51 RBI, 69 BB, 57 K
John-Ford Griffin & Jason Arnold
.277/.360/.469, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 46 BB, 81 K (AA)
3-4, 4.42, 13 GS, 75 IP, 82 H, 29 BB, 58 K, 9 HR (AAA)
Felipe Lopez
.213/.313/.299, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 28 BB, 59 K, 8 SB, 5 CS (MLB)
.270/.325/.390, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 12 BB, 38 K (AAA)
Elmer Dessens
5-7, 5.26, 118 IP, 142 H, 41 BB, 76 K, 17 HR (!)

As we suspected at the time, Arizona looks like it got rooked.

Gord Ash managed to beat Beane back in 1998. Somehow Ash got the A's to take Ed Sprague for Scott Rivette. Rivette never amounted to anything, but anyone who acquires Ed Sprague automatically loses.

(This was a pretty minor deal, but it's one that has always made little sense to me.)

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We'll have to wait and see whether Beane won or lost the Durazo deal. Right now, he's ahead of the pack.

Well, the argument was that there was no GM other than JP to beat Beane on a trade. Out of the four teams there, I think Toronto is the only one with a shot of doing better than Oakland. It's interesting to see that the players the Reds, DBacks, and A's are all performing well under the expectations of the teams that acquired them.

Mike

How many other deals do you think Beane has "lost"?

Beane got Mike Fetters for Steve Karsay.

Vernon, you da man!!! Two-run homer, 5-4 for the Fighting Jays!

Vernon, you da man!!! Two-run homer, 5-4 for the Fighting Jays!

Agree, I do. Da man is Vernon.

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Gord Ash managed to beat Beane back in 1998. Somehow Ash got the A's to take Ed Sprague for Scott Rivette. Rivette never amounted to anything, but anyone who acquires Ed Sprague automatically loses.

Yeah, Sprague was pretty awful in his short time in Oakland.

Didn't Oakland get a draft pick from Pittsburgh for him, tho?

Beane got Mike Fetters for Steve Karsay.

Ouch.

Mike

It's difficult to analyze trades when so many prospects are given up. I mean, the players Beane has acquired via trade -- Ray Durham, Johnny Damon, Durazo -- were regarded by most people as good players; it's not like he "discovered" these guys. Many players the A's have traded have become decent major leaguers. Angel Berroa is having a nice year, for example, and I think Miguel Olivo is going to be a good player, too. (And there is Bonderman, and Hinske, and Pena, and German, et al.) If pitchers like Chad Bradford are considered "free talent," then why did the A's have to trade a good, young catching prospect to get him? That was a minor deal, but I think it was a bad one, especially if you operate under the assumption it's easy to find bullpen talent, as the A's certainly do.

Sometimes the ancillary people are overvalued in deals Beane has made. Mark Ellis is one such player, and so is Mark Johnson. Baseball Prospectus: "With Billy Beane's theft of Mark Johnson from the White Sox ... " Theft? The guy's useless as a hitter. Sure, he'll draw a walk now and then, but his minor-league numbers stunk as bad as his major-league numbers have. And, while I know Johnny Damon was the main part of the deal, do you think the Royals would trade Berroa for Ellis right now? Simply because Beane makes a deal for someone -- i.e. Ted Lilly, Carlos Pena, et al -- does not mean that the player in question is going to be a superstar. Yet that seems to be a prevailing mood.

I could go on and on and on ... but it's safe to conclude that Beane is certainly in the upper-tier of baseball GMs, probably in the three or five. He's neither as brilliant as his most ardent defenders believe, nor is he as overrated as some of his most strident critics posit.

Billy Koch!

This is a good thing.

I feel bad for Koch.

How much do I love Eric Hinske walking, stealing second and scoring off Billy Koch? A whole lot. If Justin Miller never pitches another professional inning, this is still maybe the best trade the franchise ever made.

Lewis will be on with Mike Wilner after the game.

Kershner faced 1 batter. Right? Argh.

Okay, I have really lost interest in keeping Juan Acevedo in a Toronto uniform one day longer.

Awwwww crap.

Boy, that fourth intentional ball was not very reassuring.

Another game blown by a crappy older player. Why do these guys keep showing up in a Jays uniform?

Reichart nearly blows it with a wild intentional walk pitch, thank god it's Frank Thomas on 3rd.

And Dan Reichert is on an extremely short leash.

Oh, for the love of God ... Reichert threw a wild pitch on an intentional walk.

Tom Cheek: "The bullpen, once again, arsonists, not firemen tonight."

Of course, it doesn't matter if it's The Big Hurt on 3rd when you BEAN THE GOD DAMN BATTER with the bases loaded.

Tosca lost this game.

Reichert plunks in the go-ahead run. How freaking obvious was it he was having trouble when he threw to the backstop on an intentional walk?

I don't believe this....

Hit batsman with the bases loaded. 7-6 Chicago.

Dan Reichert, your leash has snapped.

I've never been so happy to see Trever Miller.

I don't care how large Carlos Delgado's contract is. Both management and the coaching staff deserve blame (along with the less-than-competent relief pitchers) for this combustible bullpen. Just impossible to watch . . .

Cliff Politte threw a scoreless rehab inning for Syracuse tonight, striking out one. That qualifies as the Cavalry coming over the hill.

Jordan,

The calvary is meaningless when your side has already been scalped.

Could Kershner not have gotten more than one out? He ended an inning, by getting Graffanino, right? A right handed batter? Who has a not too shaby 790 OPS against lefties for his career. And Kershner is worse against RHB's. So naturally, he does a good job, and only gets to pitch to one batter. He hadn't pitched since the 19th. And he's shown THIS SEASON that he can go over four innings.

And what is Tosca doing, bring in such a shitty pitcher as Reichert in such a pivotal situation? JP needs to have a sitdown with Tosca over his pitcher usage. I agree with Lurch

What is the point of pinch hitting with Cat? Isn't it obvious that the lefty will be brought in anyway?

Game over man. At least Doc's streak is kept alive.

Awful game.

Three infield hits in three innings, miscues galore, and then possibly the worst combination of pitcher usage and actually pitching I've seen this year.

Ugh. At least Halladay didn't lose.

As much as I can't stand some of Tosca's decisions, the fact remains that Acevedo gave up two hard hit balls. Reichert was wild. There's a ton of blame to go around here. The only reason I could see Tosca using Reichert over Miller is because of a slider and sinker to induce a double play. Of course, he hung a pitch to Magglio and that was that.

Right now, I don't really care who gets the blame. The team still lost ... really a game where they made so many mistakes that they probably didn't deserve to win.

I agree with Cat coming in...but I agree even more with Shrike. It's supposed to be axiomatic that a serviceable bullpen can be cobbled together on the cheap.

The current 'pen is *not* serviceable, period, for three reasons:

1. Tosca refuses to continue to pitch the hot hand, even in tight ballgames. Captain Hook disease can be problematic.

2. Not one reliever (except maybe Miller) has steadily improved over the course of the season.

3. The Jays have trotted out way too many relievers with proven track records -- proven track records of being simply awful pitchers, that is. Dan Reichert will always be Dan Reichert, much like Doug Creek will always be Doug Creek.

I would never blame Acevedo and Reichert. I know they stink. I expect them to stink. Their stench comforts me with it's familiarity. It is unjustifiable to use your 2 best relievers for a combined 2 innings.

Maybe JP will pick up Keith Foulke for Escobar.... As Andrew says, this was a howling stinker of a game, Vernon's heroics notwithstanding. As bad as Tosca managed his pitchers, Acevedo and Reichert let everyone down. Some nights, 2005 can't come soon enough. Well, they'll play again tomorrow....

I can see the Cat move, even though he is useless against lefties. I don't agree with it, but I understand.

This BP is so bad that I am starting to miss old Cripple Creek, once again defeat is snatched out of the jaws of victory

If ever there was a time to look at career head to head matchups, surely it would be when Magglio Ordonez steps to the plate. Players like Ordonez are reasons why he got flushed out of the AL Central in the first place.

I blame Tosca for this as much as the bullpen, but do you think Patterson would have made the same moves if he were in charge?

I'm in a fantasy league that uses holds as a category (don't ask). This is dumb: Lopez does not get a hold, despite being effective, while Kershner and Acevedo do. Holds are the only stat dumber than saves.

It's supposed to be axiomatic that a serviceable bullpen can be cobbled together on the cheap.

It's true, although it hasn't worked out too well here. These are 5 examples of players that would make up a typical el-cheapo bullpen.

1 2 3 4 5

Just got back from the game. A couple of notes:

- Some of the fans in the fifth deck have started to boo Chris Woodward unmercifully.

- While I am fed up with Carlos Tosca's pitching changes, I'm not sure there's much he can do with this bullpen. Lopez is really the only reliable pitcher, with Miller as a passable LOOGY. (Kershner's had a couple of good outings, but he's probably due for a stomping right about now.)

- I'm so glad that Roy didn't get the loss. Once he was off the hook, I didn't really care what happened to the bullpen. When the Fighting Jays become real contenders, all of these guys will be history anyway.

(I really like the Fighting Jays. How cool is that!)

- Is everybody going to start bunting on Hinske now? Uh-oh.

- Vernon Wells. Wow. He hits like George Bell, and he fields like Devon White. And he's 24, so the elevator is still going up. Wow again.

- Delgado's on 99 RBI! Go Carlos!

Good night, everybody. In 2005, we will all look back on this and laugh.

From all I've heard about Lewis' JP chapter, it sounds terriffic. That it ended up not making the cut is a real shame. I only wish there were some simple, effective means to disseminate otherwise-commercially-unviable intellectual property to its potential audience simply and efficiently.

Until that day, my friends.

BJ Birdy, agreed. I'll call Lewis and see if he'll post the chapter on Batter's Box. :)

http://economics.about.com
Sometimes the ancillary people are overvalued in deals Beane has made. Mark Ellis is one such player, and so is Mark Johnson. Baseball Prospectus: "With Billy Beane's theft of Mark Johnson from the White Sox ... " Theft? The guy's useless as a hitter. Sure, he'll draw a walk now and then, but his minor-league numbers stunk as bad as his major-league numbers have. And, while I know Johnny Damon was the main part of the deal, do you think the Royals would trade Berroa for Ellis right now? Simply because Beane makes a deal for someone -- i.e. Ted Lilly, Carlos Pena, et al -- does not mean that the player in question is going to be a superstar. Yet that seems to be a prevailing mood.

I agree Gitz. Around stathead baseball circles there seems to be a bit of a Warren Buffett effect with Beane... if Beane acquires a player, he must be undervalued, by definition.

I still think he's the best GM in baseball, though. Who else has done more with less?

Mike

Today in the Star, there appears an article with the title "Major League Nerds" written across the top. Most of the article is garbage and has some cheap attempts to hit "Beane-heads" in the crotch, there are a few funny passage, including the following:

This just in. The game is being handed over to computer nerds. Scouts, always the backbone of the game, have become the horse and buggy of baseball. Lewis was asked if the stats meeting he attended where he met most of his non-major-league computer contacts, had any of the feel of a Star Trek convention.

"That's not a bad analogy," Lewis said.

"If Billy Beane showed up there he'd have been like Captain Kirk."

Of course, I'm not one to pass up a Star Trek reference. Warp drive, engage!

http://economics.about.com
I thought the Star was supposed to embrace diversity and be against pointless conservatism. Then why is it that they're so bitter about 10% of the front offices in baseball (Oakland, Toronto, Boston) changing the way they do business? Isn't having a group of people who act and think differently a good thing? Why does the Star want everyone to continue to have the thoughts and biases they had in 1975?

Mike

Brent, I noticed that the Star article isn't bylined. Can someone tell me if the article is bylined in the paper? Who wrote it?

Was at the game too... how about that guy who won the free subs in the 6th inning... was he a supergenius or what? ;)

Craig B. Who do you think? None other than our favourite...RG.

The game is being handed over to computer nerds. Scouts, always the backbone of the game, have become the horse and buggy of baseball.

Exactly what we've come to expect; more whining about the ice age from a true dinosaur. Richard Griffin, master of selective amnesia, conveniently "forgets" that J.P. Ricciardi was one of baseball's best scouts for more than a decade.

Still a superb judge of talent and character, the Jays' GM -- unlike the curmudgeon/columnist -- is always open to new ideas. What he brought with him from Oakland isn't some half-baked theory, it's the innovative philosophy that made the A's so successful on a ridiculously limited budget. Ricciardi doesn't "hand over" anything to anyone, but incorporates feedback from everyone on his talented staff before making decisions. Exactly one of those people uses a computer more than a radar gun or a stopwatch. The others are experienced baseball men, capable of adjusting to a new reality.

As Michael Lewis explained, "The way the A's think is born of necessity. It's, 'We don't have money, so, where do we find opportunity?'"

To start with, you don't pay Shannon Stewart $6 million a year, or Raul Mondesi $12 million, and you certainly don't participate in the Jose Contreras sweepstakes for $32 million, when there are plenty of players just as good, available at a fraction of the cost. You recognize that RBI and batting average are overvalued in the market, and OBP is undervalued. Ricciardi combines that kind of common sense with his baseball acumen -- the Jays have steadily improved their talent, while simultaneously trimming $30 million from a bloated payroll.

Griffin, who was touting Moises Alou back when J.P. traded Koch for Hinske, simply doesn't "get it," so he feels compelled to ridicule any change for the better. Baseball fans who read the Star deserve better.