If the Jays have indeed signed Batista to a 3-yr contract with compensation not exceeding $14 M, I'll happily say that the Jays will be a strong third-place team in the AL East again.

On the positive side, I do see them causing the Red Sox and Yankees no end of stress in finishing third, but bona fide contention for a playoff spot is still likely another year away.

Coach, could you please drop me a line off-list? Thanks!

Thanks to producer Rob Pizzo for the heads-up. If you call in, let Rob know you're a Bauxite, and he'll bump you to the front of the line.

It sounds so good: Halladay, Batista, Lilly, Hentgen, Towers, with Hendrickson and the kids standing by for any emergencies. This is still unconfirmed, but it's very exciting.

If the Jays have indeed signed Batista to a 3-yr contract with compensation not exceeding $14 M, I'll happily say...
WOOOO-HOOOO!

Colour me optimistic and easy-to-please. I don't think it's completely far-fetched to envision a scenario where a lot of things go right for the Jays (think 2002 Angels) and various things go wrong for the Red Sox or Yankees, and T-Dot sneaks into the 2004 wild card. That's enough for me in 2004, and it's been set up without compromising 2005 and beyond.

Wow if this is confirmed and the price is right....Well the Jays will be a strong 3rd place finisher again but the future will indeed be BRIGHT. Frightenly enough this would be the most complete Jays rotation in years.

Let's hope it's confirmed and at the right price.

I don't think Mike has the Batista story, or he would be leading with it. Anecdotes about what a great guy Dan Plesac is are swell, and I wish him a happy retirement with his family and his horses, but that's not why we're listening right now.

Wilner just said "they got Hentgen, Lilly, Batista"

I don't know if he believes it.

Mike's not big on the Ligtenberg signing. Listen up Griffin: you can disagree with management without launching personal and unfounded attacks on the GM.

Wilner says he's not so happy with the KL signing, we need a closer and a SS. If we could get just the SS this offseason would be a massive success.

I don't think I like any of the names that Mike was saying for shortstop. Much prefer Gomez over Sanchez, Ordonez. Don't think Jays could afford Aurilia

Arthur Rhodes is going to be too expensive for the Jays to sign. No way, Mike is wrong about that point.

Rotoworld says ESPN news is reporting the Jays and Batista have agreed to a 3 year deal.

Really, all he's been trying to say is that in this market, anything is possible. Given what Santiago just took in K.C., who's to say what Aurilia will be offered? I do agree that Rhodes is likely get more than J.P. can pay, but the caller asked about possible closers, and Mike was making the point that a so-called setup man can do that job if given the opportunity.

If the Jays got Batista thats great though there goes my Hudson gets traded prediction! I would like to see if there is any market for Werth.

Further to the closer thought, Mike sounded genuinely shocked and a little disappointed that Tim Worrell chose the Phillies over the Jays. It's one of the few thinks Wilner and I disagree on; I think the closer is the final piece for a rebuilding team, and J.P. will either get one in midseason or wait until next winter. Aquilino can do the job.

This would also mean that barring any trades the 40 man roster is full. I guess there's no rule 5 pick this year.

I'm looking forward to this rotation though. Should be a fun year.

I agree with you Coach on the closer issue. Take care of the other missing pieces first then if you are contending next year and Lopez hasnt established himself as the closer then go get one.

Yeah, that seems to be the best course of action. Give both Lopez and Lightenburg their shots first.

Well, it's all they can afford to do. Let's say Batista gets $4-5-6; that leaves $2 million for another reliever and a shortstop, $3 MM if they non-tender Politte. Sorry, but there's not a closer candidate out there at that price.

I'm not reporting those numbers for Batista, it's just a WAG and I hope they got him for a bit less. Actually, I'm still just hoping they got Miguel, at this point. Have any other sources picked it up?

Think that money could buy Denny Hocking and Armando Benetiz?

The Batista signing isnt on the ESPN website yet only on rotoworld.

Can we eliminate Bill Hayes in this process?

"Aquilino Lopez is my closer," says Wilner, "and I'm not saying I'm uncomfortable with that."

Mike says that Tosca loves the way Lopez handles pressure, and he just made a fairly strons assertion that Politte's gone.

Mike seems convinced Politte will be non-tendered.

Bill Hayes is living proof that the FAN doesn't consider sports knowledge (or listener enjoyment) when they hire on air talent....at least we're not listening to Rob Faulds right now!

Think that money could buy Denny Hocking and Armando Benetiz?

Wishful thinking, but not totally impossible. Hocking will be lucky to get $750,000, so if Armando is offered nothing but setup work by everyone else, maybe he'd take $2.25 MM for one year if they guaranteed him the closer job. Really, I think they will take a run at a lefty reliever (sorry, Trever) and look for a better glove man as the shortstop.

If the Jays non-tender Politte they'll have about $2.5M to spend on another reliever and shortstop. I think they can get Benitez or another decent relief arm for that much...they might have to beg/borrow/steal a little extra from Rogers to sign the shortstop backup but I doubt that will be a problem. Rhodes would be the ideal guy and I would rather have put Ligtenberg's $2M towards him but I think the Jays had that agreement in place before the arbitration deadline. Heck if JP can secure an extra mil or two from the cable boys he could still bid on Rhodes but that's unlikely to happen.

Bill Hayes has a great voice, but he's from the "gee whiz" school of interviewing. He's too deferential to guests, which I suppose is saying he may be too nice a guy. But his Baseball Show on Saturday afternoons was a must-listen during the season, with a superb guest list, and at least he likes the sport, unlike some of the other personalities on that station.

As well-connected as Wilner is with the Jays, and as hard as he works, if he can't confirm the Batista signing yet, it's just not official. Of course, where there's smoke, there's usually fire in these cases. It could be pending a physical, or there could be some financial details still to be worked out. Keep your fingers crossed.

Bill Hayes will do a great job with the UBC goalie that got to sit on the Canuck's bench but he should really be kept away from serious subjects like baseball ;-)

Thanks Hayes, for launching the dumb argument that the Sox still would have lost to the Yanks even if they pulled Pedro earlier

That Bill Hayes made the segement. Wilner should have been on top of the Batista signing. Also Rob Pizzo is very overrated as a producer, a blind monkey could do it.....hahahahahahahahahahaha!

You guys are a tough audience. Remind me not to go into radio. I'm just happy to get an hour of baseball talk in the middle of December.

OK, I'm going to start a Batista thread, but if it doesn't happen, I'll be mad at myself for jinxing it.

I'd certainly be interested in looking at Rhodes. Coming off a rough season (due to a sprained ankle that he never let heal, read: not an arm injury), and getting on in years he probably won't be commanding as much as he did this year (3.5 mil). He might be interested in a chance at closing, or even sharing the closer's role with KL or Lopez depending on the situation. You can save a little more money by non-tendering arby eligibles Walker, Miller and Politte and let Chen/Hendrickson battle it out for a LOOGY role should you need it. We'd have the main four guys in the back of the pen set and there's no shortage of options for the final two or three spots already in the organization. That comment that some very high up in the Jays front office feel that Peterson could make it out of spring training was certainly interesting, if not, in Mike's words, "shocking".

It's confirmed now, according to the FAN. Batista is a Jay.

well, according to 590 it has been confirmed...

I thought we would have heard from Craig by now

Sean Page, on the other hand...WOW...what a guy...

Hilarious. I went to school with Pizzo and happen to live next door to the Rogers building so I run into him on the occassion. Great guy with a vast knowledge of sports, who I must say does a good job on game days.

Anyways. Rob, give me a job.

Mike Bembenek

I just got off the phone with wilner, he has confirmed it

Pizzo

Props to Wilner for confirming the Batista signing. He is the God of all Baseball reporters. That Rob Pizzzo sounds like one hot guy.

HOLY SH-T. Vlad to Cleveland is the latest rumour.

Wilner is reporting the deal will be announced formally tomorrow or Saturday.

(You know you're a die-hard Jays fan when...you're sitting in your apartment in Jerusalem at 4:22 in the morning on a Friday, listening to the Fan590 on the interent to hear about the details of Miguel Batista's new contract with the Fighting Jays!)

Did anyone from Da Box call in?

OFF-TOPIC

N said: "HOLY SH-T. Vlad to Cleveland is the latest rumour."

I know Cleveland has a lot of money to throw around and it is an intrigueing destination. Cleveland as we know are rebuilding and it could take them 3 or so years to get a whiff of the playoffs. By that time Vlad will be in his prime. I'd like to see how that plays out if indeed Cleveland is making a serious offer.

ON-TOPIC

It's great to see that we've got Batista now. This will as i've said really solidify the rotation. The Jays are going to be strong in the pitching department for years to come and this will be important since we're in the most competitive division monetary and team wise.

Did anyone from Da Box call in?

I didn't recognize any names, but it's hard to tell; I don't know many of you except by your BB handles.

Instead of calling, I sent Rob a note about the reported signing (which now has its own thread) and I'm sure he passed it on to Hayes. That's probably why Mike sounded a bit surprised when Bill mentioned it. Then, as soon as he got off the air, Wilner buttonholed a "source" for confirmation. Pretty good teamwork, I'd say. I nearly missed all the excitement; I was just checking e-mail, and in a quick check of Da Box saw R Billie's post.

sitting in your apartment in Jerusalem at 4:22 in the morning

Steve, you win the die-hard prize hands down. Go to sleep.

If I hear one more Chris Gomez rumour, I'm gonna snap. The guy would be just as useless as Woodward - absolutely no improvement.
I think instead of pigeon-holing someone as a backup SS only, they should be looking at a McLemore-type who can play all IF positions solidly, and the OF if needed.
I say non-tender Politte (obvious), offer McLemore 1 year/$1 mil, then give the remainder to Benitez.
NO CHRIS GOMEZ.

Steve Z, you are the 'cats ass' my friend, and this cannot be understated.

I was going to go with "the bee's knees," but I like this "cat's ass." Either way, Steve Z wins. Good man.

I'm in favour of Bill Hays. He's probably the third best baseball guy on the FAN behind Wilner and Hogan.

Matt, don't forget Roger Lajoie, a huge baseball fan who has been the PA voice of the Maple Leafs at the Pits for many years, and is the emcee of Jack Dominico's annual fundraising dinner, where you can meet Hall of Famers (Fergie Jenkins and Juan Marichal last year) and other stars, many of whom are wonderful speakers.

There could be one more baseball guy on the FAN, who would also improve their horse racing coverage and isn't totally out of the loop on any sport, if Mr. Millman ever gives me an audition.

For some reason, I always love when Chuck Swirsky talks baseball. He's extremely knowledgable from his time in Chicago. Roger Lajoie is usually well researched. Barb DiGiulio can carry on an intelligent baseball conversation. Really, the only guys on the FAN who don't know baseball are unfortunately, the most popular:

1) Bob McCown. To hear him today, you wouldn't know he was Murray Eldon before Murray was.

2) Pat Marsden and Don Landry. The get the morning drive time because they are supposed to be entertaining and I usually do find them to be. But if it's not hockey with these two, it's a vacuous waste of airtime.

3) Gord Stellick. Gordie can spin quite a yarn about baseball in the late 70's, be it about Dave Parker and the Pirates or Dave Concepcion but seems to forget that 25 years have passed.

what ever happened with Scott Ferguson? Can we still hear him anywhere?

I heard Scott Ferguson doing traffic reports on the 'Oldies" music station just west of Toronto last summer and I was flabergasted. He was the voice of baseball and of the Jays on the Fan590 for many years but made a dreadful decision to move to CHUM All Sports just months before it folded. I hope he is able to get back into sports some day as I liked and respected his viewpoint.

agreed- i can't believe he is not at the very least on 640, with the fan having wilner and all