John, figuring out what happened from a boxscore is a pet hobby of mine. Well done.

For clutch hitting aficionados, your deduction also means that Rios hit the game-winning 3-run shot in the 7th for Caguas. Caguas won despite being outhit 16-9, thanks to Rios' heroics and 5 double plays (Cintron and Cora being the likely major participants).

Can a Triple Crown winner break out? I suppose not, though I'd love to pick Vito Chiaravalloti, I think he will do very well in the FSL.

My candidate (given how many have already been taken) is Bubbie Buzachero, who I think will be killer as the Dunedin closer... good enough to be moved up to AA.

Pond is not playing winter ball, anymore. It is always a frustrating matter that MLB teams pull out their players at very odd times. It may very well be that Caguas are in the Caribean series, having a very good shot at it, but somebody decides that: a) rios season has been very long, b) it is time to travel to Dunedin to meet with brass c) exactly now, chances for an injure are not worth taking...
above is an example of things that happen all the time and that nobody really understand the logic behind. Why Pond is not playing? Does he has to do some paper work? hard to understand, I hope he gets all the chances to play for team Canada this summer...

It could be that Pond went home for Christmas and is not going back. Spring training is six weeks away, Yippee!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1700328
I don't think the Vaquez contract has been mentioned anywhere else on BB. Looks like the Yanks got a good deal, COMN.
I think that while on the face of it the Yankees have a great pitcher in his prime for the next 4 years, this isn't all bad news for the Jays. You have to like what this contract does for Toronto with regards to the price of tying up Halladay.

I'll go with Nick Thomas as my breakout candidate. He has a nice blend of power, average, and plate discipline. He's still fairly young, he turns 21 in february. Also Left handed hitters who are converted pitchers seem to have a good chance for success. At least in the cases of Babe Ruth and Stan Musial they did. Didn't Ted Williams start out a pitcher as well?

ESPN.com's John Sickels answered a few questions today regarding some underrated pitching prospects, including Jays' farmhand Jamie Vermilyea (he of the "eye-popping K/BB ratio"):

Vermilyea's fastball is average, but his splitter and slider are sharp, and his command is exquisite. The lack of a plus fastball keeps him out of the Bush/McGowan/Banks class, but I think Vermilyea is just a notch below that. His ratios are exceptional. We need to see what he can do in Double-A, but I am very optimistic about his chances.

Gotta love ESPN not mentioning anything about the Vazquez contract until the 11th paragraph of a story titled 'Pitcher Agrees to Four-Year Deal'.

Tug McGraw passed away today from brain cancer. He was a likable character, and a fine reliever. He will be missed.

Is it just me or were there a lot of untimely deaths from brain cancer among the players/managers of the late 70s and early 80s? Howser, Quiz and now McGraw. Several others from the era have, I think, survived it. I have no idea how common brain cancer is, but it does make me wonder in particular about Astroturf.

Here's a frightened Scott Rex (of OnDeckBaseball.com) on Rios' latest barage:

I'm writing this from my winter home on Mars because it's the safest place to be right now. Why am I so scared? Blue Jays RF Alexis Rios is frightening me. Rios once again blew down the PRL doors yesterday, going deep twice and driving in 6 runs to help power Caguas to a 9-8 victory over San Juan. Rios has now hit 14 homers in 43 games this winter. Crayzay. Hold on. I just heard somthing crash in my backyard. I'm now moving to my panic room.

Hold on. I just heard somthing crash in my backyard.

That was the Beagle 2.

Sickels: "The lack of a plus fastball keeps him out of the Bush/McGowan/Banks class, but I think Vermilyea is just a notch below that."

Comparing Vermilyea to Bush, McGowan, and Banks seems to imply that Sickels sees (or projects) Vermilyea as a starter as well. Does he know something that we don't, because from what I've read, Jamie's more than happy staying in short relief.

Jeff Cirillo to the Padres for Kevin Jarvis, Wiki Gonzalez and Dave Hansen; the Mariners pick up most of Cirillo's salary and take two other contracts off San Diego's hands. Nice deal for the Padres, even if Cirillo is only ever an infield backup and bench bat: he's not a .205 hitter, and he simply has to rebound to some extent. I still have no idea what they're doing in Seattle.

Vermilyea has expressed a preference for relief, which is fairly unusual for a young pitcher, and heaven knows the Jays could use bullpen help sooner rather than later. But I'm sure the organization will put him in the rotation in Dunedin early in the season and see what happens -- if he's really as good as he's shown so far, he needs to be a starter. The pen will always be there as a fallback option.

I'm not as sure how the organization will deal with Vermilyea's preference, in light of the glut of starting pitching prospects for Dunedin and Charleston. A rotation of League, Perkins, Rosario, Banks and Isenberg in Dunedin wouldn't be chopped liver. Alternatively, they could try a tandem starter regime, with Vermilyea, Hanson and Chris Leonard or Tom Mastny thrown in the mix.

Personally, I would try to work with a pitcher's preferences. Better an effective reliever than a less effective starter. The player himself probably knows his own arm, and its tolerances, better than management.

Terrible winter to be a fan in Seattle. Does anyone know if Gillick endorsed Bavasi as his successor? I'm assuming from the degree to which the Mariners are being torn apart that Gillick will be as horrified as everyone else who wants to see the Mariners succeed.

Robbie Alomar has decided to sign with the D-Backs according to espn.com. Salary details have not been released.

Primates say Molitor and Eckersley and that's it. Sandberg in 3rd.

I believe Dick Scott said that Vermilyea will be starting next year. (COMN) I'd imagine he'll start out in Dunedin like Bush did this year.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/book/
No more cover jinx! COMN

http://www.battersbox.ca/archives/00000857.shtml
Oops, I forgot the link.

Unfortunately, Ryan, the link to the article doesn't work. Dick Scott's comments which are referred to in the thread were made prior to Rosario's performance in the instructional league.

Vermilyea's build is tall and lanky. Asking him to start could get you another David Bush, or it could get you another Justin Maureau. It's easy to be persuaded that he is capable of starting because of his varied repertoire, and forget the injury risk issue. Vermilyea threw over 170 innings last year, between college and pro. It would probably be better for him if he threw less than that this year.

Steve Z - I think Sickels made that comparison, only because the e-mailer did.

Plesac is brilliant with the mike; relaxed, poised, informative, humourous, insightful. Having said that, Mike Wilner is the man and is by far the best part of the Blue Jays' radio program and better than anyone I've ever heard in Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland. Okay, I guess I've got to put Ernie Harwell on a separate level, but let's say that he's the most interestng non-hall-of-fame radio announcer I've ever heard.

Plesac is brilliant with the mike; relaxed, poised, informative, humourous, insightful. Having said that, Mike Wilner is the man and is by far the best part of the Blue Jays' radio program and better than anyone I've ever heard in Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland. Okay, I guess I've got to put Ernie Harwell on a separate level, but let's say that he's the most interestng non-hall-of-fame radio announcer I've ever heard.

Mike, obviously Vermilyea would throw less than 170 innings whether he was in the rotation or not. And that 170 was thrown over a span of 7 months instead of 5. I think we both have enough faith in the Jays organization to trust that they would not put his arm through any unnecessary risk. He certainly has a much more suitable frame for starting than Maureau.

I'd definitely take the risk of Vermilyea turning into another Maureau if there was just as good a chance he'd turn into another Bush. Of course I'm not nearly as down on Maureau as most Bauxites seem to be. He was very solid in his first couple starts before imploding after the injury. He had an ERA over 10 for a while IIRC. In the second half, he was very quietly one of the better pitchers in a strong Dunedin bullpen. I'm expecting a big year for Maureau next season.

I don't think Rosario's performance has changed things much. He was always expected to be in the picture next season. I like the tandem starters idea, at least for the first couple months while they are still stretching their arms out. Then once the injuries/breakouts/flops start to occur they can start spreading those 8-10 pitchers out between Manchester and Charleston.

In addition to acquiring Baez today, The Rays signed former-Jay Trever Miller (1 yr/$650,000 + performance bonuses).

Ryan, I too still like Maureau, but the failed effort to make him a starter will significantly affect his career IMO.

I would have no problem with Vermilyea as a tandem starter, going 4 innings or so every 4th or 5th day. Heck, he was more or less in this role last year. But, I wouldn't ask him to go 6 or 7 innings every 5th day unless he wanted to.

There is apparently a report from ESPN which says the Jays have signed Terry Adams to a one year $1.7 million deal. I don't get ESPN and I haven't found confirmation from a news source on the web but if it's true this is a nice addition. Adams features decent strikeout numbers, good homeruns allowed, strong groundball tendancies, and a balanced performance versus lefties and righties. He walks a few too many guys but as an added bonus he can also start if needed which gives the Jays what I feel is much needed insurance for injury or ineffectiveness in the middle to back of the rotation.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=tor
COMN for confirmation. Under "Players Signed" at the top, and a bit down the page on the right. Closer?

As a reliever in the National League, Adams has been consistently above average (ERA +'s of 145, 93, 101, 121, 122 and 156 in seasons over 60 innings in which he wasn't a starter). Last season was his best, and it was his age 30 year. I don't think he should do any closing in the midst of A-Lo, Speier, and Ligtenberg but I do think he'll be a valuable fourth member of this 'pen (which, IMO, looks like it could be a strength now with those four and Jason Kershner...as long as Jason is as good as I think he is). After the best season of his career, he just took a 1.2 million dollar pay cut. I think that says something about the current market and, hopefully, the repuatation of J.P.'s Jays. I don't think he'll be as good as last year, I guess, but an ERA + of about 115 in 70ish innings sounds alright.

After the best season of his career, he just took a 1.2 million dollar pay cut. I think that says something about the current market and, hopefully, the repuatation of J.P.'s Jays.

I think it probably has more to do with the 2 assault charges, 1 harassment charge and 1 child endagement charge that Adams is/was facing for alledgedly attacking his wife while his 4 month old son was in the room back in July.

Thanks for the scoop on Adams, guys. I've got a separate thread ready to go, but I want to hold off on posting it until I see a more solid confirmation. Coach doesn't take rookie mistakes lightly!

Jonny, go ahead and post your Adams thread. This has been confirmed on The Score and ESPN, so if it turns out to be premature, I won't hold you responsible.

Done!

There's an interesting comment on Angel reliever Derrick Turnbow's use of andro: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/040107turnbow.html.

He's now throwing 98 mph, and will be invited to spring training notwithstanding his suspension from Olympic participation. Andro is apparently available in over-the-counter nutritional supplements in the US. As Barry Bonds has said that he does not use steroids, but has used over-the-counter nutritional supplements, I fear that he too may have taken a supplement containing andro and that his recent records may be tarnished in the same way that Mark McGwire's were.

More generally, if MLB has plans to go global, it had better start worrying about its image.

There is little doubt that many many nutritional supplements contain substances that are (or soon will be) banned by the IOC. An athlete literally has no idea what they're ingesting, as many tested samples of supplements contained different substances than were stated on the label.

That's true. Andro is a substance that is banned by the IOC for very good reasons. It is a performance-enhancing drug with significant long-term health effects. And, as the Turnbow article points out, it was in a nutritional supplement, without any identification. The athlete may indeed have had no knowledge that he was on steroids.

It's hard to believe that the situation could have gotten worse after the Johnson disqualification and the Dubin inquiry, but at least Ben Johnson was aware that he was taking steroids, and these were administered by a doctor who suffered professional sanction for his acions. As these nutritional supplements do not require a prescription, no one need take responsibility for the consequences of their use.

Where are the athlete's unions on this issue of obvious importance to their members?