Oh. Lilly has a hurt RIGHT wrist. I didn't notice that before.

Can we slow the content down, I'm having trouble keeping up ;-)

Thursday, Moffat doesn't care about you.

Didn't we already have a reference to this song?

I call shenannigans.

Am I wrong to not care who gets the closer label? Because I don't. I think this bullpen is good enough and deep enough that everything'll work out okay no matter how they set it up. I just don't see the point of getting all exercised about it.

http://economics.about.com
Didn't we already have a reference to this song?

Not that I remember. My earlier reference was to the Boomtown Rats' I don't like Mondays. This is a reference to the Cure's Friday I'm in Love. I also recently referenced The Housemartins' Happy Hour.

Tomorrow look for my Love Plus One by Haircut 100 reference.

Cheers,

Mike

Am I wrong to not care who gets the closer label?

Did you not just read #2 & #3? It's VITAL!

I only care because I have a draft coming up next weekend and they'll all go cheap. For some reason I'd go with Adams if I were Tosca, but I suspect it'll be Speier.

http://economics.about.com
I call shenannigans.

What is this a reference to? I'm trying to remember, and it's driving me nuts!

For some reason I keep thinking it's a reference to MTV's Remote Control, but I don't think that's it.

Cheers,

Mike Moffatt: Dead or Canadian?

South Park, unless there's another source. (I think it was singular, though)

http://economics.about.com
South Park, unless there's another source. (I think it was singular, though)

Ahh, cool. I looked it up on the net, and apparently it was in one of the few 2nd season episodes I haven't seen. I guess I'll have to go out and get the box set, once I finish watching all my Family Guy DVDs. :)

Cheers,

Mike

I think it's colloquial. Didn't Moe say it in the whacking day episode? My friends and I say it when we can't say "I call bull$hit!".

I'm sure somebody used the Cure reference before. Maybe it was on another blog. I'd search for it, but I need to stop nerding it up and get some work done for once.

PS. How bout a Pixies reference...

South Park - you're probably right.

I liked this quote (in the Griffin article) from Terry Adams:

"I played with (ex-Jay) Dan Plesac a couple of years and he told me how good a clubhouse this was and the coaching staff and the city of Toronto. It was a fresh start and these guys have the opportunity to do something special."

Am I wrong to not care who gets the closer label? Because I don't. I think this bullpen is good enough and deep enough that everything'll work out okay no matter how they set it up. I just don't see the point of getting all exercised about it.

I agree that it's unimportant who closes this year, it's the improved array of arms that's key. However, there are at least two other things to consider:

-Saves are still a highly overvalued stat in general
-The bullpen figures to get real crowded in 2005 with the influx of youngsters

If I'm J.P., I strongly consider trying to pull Billy Beane's favourite trick of inflating the perceived value of a reliever by letting him rack up Saves, then trade him away in the offseason. With this in mind, I don't use Aquilino as closer, and I don't use Adams unless I'm confident he'll be so good at it that another team will be willing to surrender their first-round pick by signing him as a free agent.

Jim Callis at Baseball America has a great article contrasting the Dodgers and the A's in regards to DePodesta and Logan White.
One benefit of a closer who can shut the door with authority is that it shortens the games in the opposition's mind. Ward and Henke created a lot of seven inning games as did the Dodgers last year. Playing the Yankees the past few years pretty much meant you had to have the lead going into the ninth.

inflating the perceived value of a reliever by letting him rack up Saves, then trade him away

I'm with Jonny all the way on this. That's one reason I'd be leaning to Speier. If Justin gets the Proven Closer designation over the next two years, he'll simultaneously become too expensive to keep and a great bargaining chip. By then, Lopez will be more than ready, if he hasn't been passed by Peterson or someone.

As of now, assuming everyone is rested and healthy, Aquilino should be the guy to come in for a key Nomar-Manny inning, and he can look forward to facing Jeter, Sheffield and A-Rod often in the second half, but he has yet to prove he belongs out there against the best lefty batters with the game on the line.

Love the way Elliott referenced the scout that signed Gross - and mentioned that he's no longer part of the organization. Dig dig dig!

Scouts don't sign players anymore. They haven't done so in what, 40 years? Goes to show you how divorced the profession's view of itself is from reality.

When the Jays drafted Gabe Gross, what was he supposed to do, turn down the $1.85 million bonus? Yes, it's great that the area scout who was assigned to watch Gross liked him and (presumably) championed him to the team, but picking Gross as a talent was no stretch whatsoever. He'd been a late cut from the Olympic Team. He's just finished a big-hitting year in the SEC. Everybody and his dog knew all about Gabe Gross.

If I'm J.P., I strongly consider trying to pull Billy Beane's favourite trick of inflating the perceived value of a reliever by letting him rack up Saves, then trade him away in the offseason. With this in mind, I don't use Aquilino as closer, and I don't use Adams unless I'm confident he'll be so good at it that another team will be willing to surrender their first-round pick by signing him as a free agent.

I don’t believe that Oakland has ever made a pitcher a closer, who wouldn’t have been a closer otherwise, in order to pump up their value.

I think a team would be getting too cute if they were to try and manipulate roles based on future salary considerations. I think you need to put your players in the best position to win now and worry about any potential salary considerations later.

Some articles you might have missed:
- James Parkinson's favorable review of the Jays current and longterm chances.
- Cam Cole has another fine front-page column in the Post, foreshadowing the "monsoon fast approaching" in Yankeeland. You'll have to pay to read it online, but I'll leave you with Cole's poetic description of Jeter's news conference appearance...

"Into this crocodile-infested pond Jeter stepped yesterday with his usual insouciance, the hint of a smile, and absolutely no intention of betraying any sign of irritation. He sat at his locker, after the storm, and did what he has always done: provide words, but few of the emotions."

[Props to Cole for teaching me a new word today. Insousiance: n. Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance.]

"Insouciance", that is!

Is there anyone out there that that does this? When reading the newspaper, if I come across any headline that contains any one of these magical words, "Steroids", "Rose", or "Closer", I almost always just skip it. Or atleast try to skim through it until it gets to be too much and then I have to turn away.

The Toronto media makes a big fuss about 'needing a closer', 'you can't compete without a proven closer' or in this case you just need one, so that you say his name in your columns. Or if someone asks, "Who's their closer? Oh, it's so and so. OH, thank god, I didn't think they had one".

The problem I have, is the whole bloody thing is a set-up. From the time the guys anointed you prey he pitches well, the defence is good behind him and he get some saves on those early April nights. Otherwise, your ears bleed for weeks about 'whose the closer', then move straight into either building him up or tearing him down. It's predictable, overblown and a total bore to read.

And i'd hate to see someone new like Speier come into spring training, totally kick ass, get the role, and then god for bid, some things go not so great, and then for five more months his name is constantly menitioned in the press as the 'failed closer'. It should be a darn good bullpen, for a pretty good club, and i'm sure it and I could do without the press emasculation that get handed out to guys like Politte when things just don't work out.

Scouts don't sign players anymore.

This is true. In Kevin Kerrane's terrific book, Dollar Sign on the Muscle, which I must return to Craig some day after reading it a third time, there are wonderful tales of how the legendary old scouts not only competed to find talent, but to get the family's all-important signature on a contract. Since the draft was implemented, that's all become irrelevant. The prospect signs, or he waits a year.

However, a scout, even in a progressive organization like the Jays, can still get credit for insisting that a certain player be considered, or moved up on the draft list. In our interview with Jon Lalonde, he made it clear that Tim Huff, since promoted from area scout to national crosschecker, really pushed hard for Jamie Vermilyea to be drafted.

I don’t believe that Oakland has ever made a pitcher a closer, who wouldn’t have been a closer otherwise, in order to pump up their value.

I think a team would be getting too cute if they were to try and manipulate roles based on future salary considerations. I think you need to put your players in the best position to win now and worry about any potential salary considerations later.

I'm not saying you pick a scrub at random and hope he succeeds as closer, and I'm not saying Oakland has put anybody in the closer role solely to pump their value. I am saying that what Oakland has done since the departure of Dennis Eckersley is a smart operating procedure as long as the competition in general doesn't do a good job of evaluating relievers.

1996: Billy Taylor was pulled out of the woodwork (34 years old, 46 previous innings in the Majors).
1999: Taylor begat Isringhausen.
2001: Isringhausen begat draft picks. Hinske, a blocked prospect, begat Koch.
2002: Koch begat Foulke.
2003: Foulke begat draft picks.

All this was done without compromising the performance of the team.

Tomorrow look for my Love Plus One by Haircut 100 reference

Mike, you're scaring me. Really. If you come out with a Style Council reference, we may have to send you to the Cabal for reconditioning.

http://economics.about.com
Mike, you're scaring me. Really. If you come out with a Style Council reference, we may have to send you to the Cabal for reconditioning.

Nah.. if I'm going to make a Paul Weller reference, it will be something from his time with The Jam.

Incidentally, the review of the video for Love Plus One that I referenced is really funny, coz it's so on the mark.

Cheers,

Mike

I am much of Shane's opinion. I think the bullpen is going to be better than last year's, but I think their reputation will be poor.

From Spencer's first article:

"We're just going to take a look at it and see how it works. I'm not sure what it's all about," Scott said. "They're going to come and make a presentation soon."

The basic gist is this: Toronto has video on the Major League level but inconsistent feeds in the minor leagues. Dartfish might be able to change all that, which would revolutionize player development.

"Let's say [Dustin] McGowan pitched last night in [Triple-A] Syracuse. We'd be able to see the DVD the next day," said Tosca. "Let's say he pitches, then comes in here and he's a different guy. That's a great reference to go back to, to see if maybe he's changed his arm angle or his delivery. I think it's a great tool, if we can pull it off."

This system, if it works and it's cost-effective, could indeed be revolutionary. It's one thing to get a scouting report faxed to your office; it's another to have game films from Dunedin or Charleston arrive by overnight courier. Taken to its logical extreme, this system could do away with the need to have scouts in ballparks, eliminating a tremendous amount of organizational expense in salary and travel. I don't think any team would do that, of course, but it's undeniable that this system would create redundancies that could allow a ballclub to redistribute its scouting resources (not to mention serving as a tremendously useful tool for training new scouts). This is worth keeping an eye on.

PS. How bout a Pixies reference...

Don't know where you live but the Pixies have reformed and start their comeback tour in Winnipeg (April 14). They then go west to Regina, Saskatoon and maybe into B.C. before heading down the American west coast. By the summer they are playing in Europe. I think everyone is a bit shocked that they aren't playing Toronto/New York/Chicago/Boston area but I guess if it goes well the tour will continue after Europe.

Yep. Minor league pitching mechanics, defence, park effects and so on get a lot easier to judge if you can see for yourself in a timely way.

This system, if it works and it's cost-effective, could indeed be revolutionary.

I think it'd be tough for it NOT to be cost effective.

And if you had something like this you'd be able to do a lot more with it - such as having a CD that has all of the ABs or pitches of a particular player over a long period of time. The speed in which you could evaluate someone would be a lot quicker than 4 ABs each night.

I am utterly convinced that Moffatt is a fraud?

A real job as a real economist? Nobody has this much time on their hands.

A GIRLFRIEND? If she exists, she has taken the title of World's Greatest Significant Other away from my wife.

And even if Mike does have a girlfriend and a job, I echo Jordan's thoughts: Moffatt frightens me, even more than being forced to sit in a caged room and watch 451 consecutive hours of the FOX network -- with no Simpsons.

I'm not saying Oakland has put anybody in the closer role solely to pump their value.

I'm not either. It's just a terrific fringe benefit when it works. And it won't surprise me one bit, if Arthur Rhodes notches 40+ saves this year, when they flip him for more than he's worth and start over in 2005 with another candidate. Of course, if you believe the Baltimore Orioles psychological reports from 1995, Rhodes doesn't have starter or closer makeup.

Thanks to David Pinto at Baseball Musings for both those links, and kudos on reaching the 500,000 hit milestone.

If Rhodes is healthy, he'll be lights out. I am a bit worried about hsi performance last year, however. That dip in the K rate, plus the fact he issued a few more walks in fewer innings, makes me think he didn't trust his stuff -- not because of his poor makeup, but because he was hurt.

http://www.slam.ca/Slam040225/mlb_tor-ap.html
Article (CONM) from Slam website regarding Delgado and his potential to re-sign.

Glad to see that Carlos wants to be here and that JP wants him to stay.

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/baseball/article/0,1651,TCP_1057_2681984,00.html
Not Jays related, but an article in the Vero Beach Press Journal about Shawn Green possibly playing first base for the Dodgers this season. (comn)

Didn't Rhodes pitch most of the 2nd half of last year on a sore ankle? I thought I had read that his ankle was part of the problem for his off year but because the Mariners were in contention he continued to pitch with the bad ankle.

A GIRLFRIEND? If she exists, she has taken the title of World's Greatest Significant Other away from my wife.

I met her! Unless she was hired to pretend to be his girlfriend...

http://economics.about.com
I met her! Unless she was hired to pretend to be his girlfriend

Hehehe.. I don't make that much. Particular to hire both her *and* her friend to come to the game with me. That'd get pretty expensive.

Cheers,

Mike

kudos on reaching the 500,000 hit milestone.

We'll be there ourselves before Opening Day.

Here's an insightful interview with David Bush, conducted by MLB.com radio. Of note, Bush talks about his health scare a few years ago, and raves about HLH and the Breakfast Club. They also talk about the plethora of pitching prospects in the system (12 of BA's top 25 Jays prospects are RHPs!)

Overnight DVDs to revolutionize the game? Posh. For less than the cost of producting the DVD (about $US3) and overnight shipping (depending on from where, maybe $US10?), you could set up the same camera and deliver the multimedia video feed live over a DSL connection with virtually no discernible difference in quality, then save the video feed to the hard drive. No "overnight," no discs to worry about, and everyone heads home early for a beer.

I belive south park's line was "I declare Shenannagins".... but I love seeing such classic one-liners referenced on baseball blogs... I think I'm more of an Adam Dunn fan after he replied to the question "are you going to be healthy for 2004" with "Yeah!! I'm ready to tock and roll!!!".... a good chuckle indeed....

As for which of those odd animated series reigns supreme, I have to give the nod to family guy... The first time I saw the episode where the doctor diagnosed rudolph the red-nosed reindeer with cancer I nearly died laughing....

ALSO.... As some of you may know... family guy is rumoured by usa today to be potentially returning to fox for jan. 2005 as a result of the collosal dvd sales that the show acheived... 4th best ever for a tv series... an anomaly it was....

ALSO.... As some of you may know... family guy is rumoured by usa today to be potentially returning to fox for jan. 2005 as a result of the collosal dvd sales that the show acheived... 4th best ever for a tv series... an anomaly it was....

If you own the Family Guy DVDs you get to see the infamous Jewish episode that was banned from TV. I've seen it and I can't fathom why it was banned. Great episode. The entire show was probably ahead of its time. Now if Fox decides to bring back Futurama as well, I'll die happy.

P.S. Shenanigans also makes me remember the incredibly underrated Super Troopers movie. Here's hoping that Club Dread is half as funny.