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Here's the latest from Spring Training and beyond.

1. Fordin Notes - Batista uses the KISS method and Pond is relocated to the OF. Sun Notes on yesterday's game.

2. Summary of yesterday's 8-2 victory over the Reds. Simon Pond is your hitting star of the day. Here's the boxscore.

3. Griffin looks like a spectacular miss. Griffin looks at Griffin's throwing ability. Sadly, I could not find a column from JFG on Griffin's writing ability.

Instead of dwelling on negatives, Tosca sees someone who will be a 'great offensive player when he reaches the majors.

4. More of the Batista / Pond summary at the Sun in Batista Nails It.

5. Jays Go Batty - An interesting look at bat sales in spring training, and a rundown of what bats each Jay uses. I like a nice, short 28 oz aluminum bat myself.

6. Larry Millson looks at Tosca's 2nd spring training as manager of the team. Communication, as it is in most facets of work & life is the key.

7. Can't get enough of Simon Pond? Here's some more info on the hopeful for the 25th spot on the roster. Being able to play the OF can only help the cause.

The Jays take on the Red Sox today. Lowe vs Towers. Anyone know if the game is on TV or radio?
Posted by Pistol on Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 10:18 AM EST.
80s-Free Saturday Roundup | 31 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_StephenT - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 10:39 AM EST (#76302) #
fyi, today's Jays game is being televised on WSBK (channel 211 on Rogers Digital Cable here in Ottawa).
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_Ryan01 - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 11:10 AM EST (#76303) #
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/Sports/2004/03/13/380345.html
It may have been intentional but you missed Elliot's latest ummm.... I don't what to call it. I just know I'll never get those two minutes of my life back. COMN
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Coach - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 12:13 PM EST (#76304) #
Millson's piece on Tosca is excellent. Delgado's endorsement:

"He came in tough times, and that might be one of the reasons I respect him the most. He made good out of a really bad situation, and it takes a lot to do that."

The skipper thinks my man Pond has "happy feet" in the outfield, but is willing to give Simon another chance. He's hit his way into the top 25, I hope. I'm not wishing Talley Haines any bad luck; it's just that Bamm Bamm is a Canadian and a great story. It's a small sample size, but a fine one: 8-for-20 with three walks, nine runs scored, five doubles and a homer. You can always use a bat like that, even if it's mostly pinch-hitting. As much as I like Pond, I don't want him to take AB away from Josh Phelps.

Though Tosca didn't come right out and say Bruce Chen's time is up, he told Ganter, "We are getting close to making some moves."

Stephen, thanks for the TV tip.
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_Cristian - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 12:16 PM EST (#76305) #
Put another way, I truly believe I am the best throwing Griffin in this Jays camp. Given the opportunity, I could demonstrate that superiority to any base. I would offer to eat my column.

JP, please, please, please take this chump up on his challenge.
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_Steve Z - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 12:36 PM EST (#76306) #
Today's game is also on the Fan radio network.

The front cover of the guide mockup showed a blue logo with a Canadian flag. All part of the new marketing scheme designed by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. after purchasing the franchise from Rogers Communications.

New/old president Paul Beeston didn't waste time once he was hired. His first move was to name Bobby Mattick as chief of operations. They then hired Elliott Wahle, the ex-Jays and Toys "R" Us executive, as the new general manager.

Wahle hired Willie Randolph, the former New York Yankees second baseman and long-time coach as his manager.

Mattick as COO at age 94! Now that would be a sight!

IMO, MLSE acquiring the Jays from Rogers is one of Bob's most realistic predictions.
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_Ryan - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 12:39 PM EST (#76307) #
JP, please, please, please take this chump up on his challenge.

I hope J.P. does more than that -- I hope he signs Griffin to a minor league contract and ships him off to Pulaski for a few years.

C'mon J.P.! Give this Richard guy a chance!
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Coach - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 01:55 PM EST (#76308) #
Sorry, everyone. A technical glitch prevented comments there for a while.

It's 5-0 Red Sox, with most of the damage on a Daubach grand slam off Towers. It looked like a hanging breaking pitch, maybe a change, in on his fists.
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Coach - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:12 PM EST (#76309) #
The Jays got one back, then Justin Miller made his long-awaited return to the mound. The Incredible Tattooed Man (including the "I Love Billy Koch" on his butt) retired the side on three fly balls in just six pitches.
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Gitz - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:16 PM EST (#76310) #
I'm certainly not making a jab at the fine sport of curling, but why can't CBC, which I get in Seattle, broadcast the baseball game instead?
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Gitz - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:17 PM EST (#76311) #
And is our super scout Jordan down in Florida this weekend?
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Coach - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:23 PM EST (#76312) #
Gitz, it's the national championships vs. an exhibition game. Jordan and Mrs. Gideon haven't left yet; sometime next week.

Nice outing by Derek Lowe. Five innings: 11 groundouts, 3 strikeouts and one lonely fly ball.
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_Jordan - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:24 PM EST (#76313) #
Not yet, Gitz ... after the 23rd, though. I'm hoping to see three games while we're there.
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_R Billie - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:27 PM EST (#76314) #
Derek can't control what happens to the ball once it's in play but he probably has the single most nastiest sinker in the game today. He gets strikeouts just off the movement of that pitch alone. I haven't seen Webb or Brown pitch as much but I suspect they'd give Lowe some competition as would Halladay.
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Gitz - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:31 PM EST (#76315) #
My bad re: curling.
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Coach - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 02:49 PM EST (#76316) #
Nice inning by Rosario, with a couple of K's and a groundout (well played by Hudson) around a HBP -- he came a bit too far inside with a fastball to Reese. Francisco, a bit bigger than I imagined, has very good command of that slider, and put all the other fastballs where he wanted them.
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_StephenT - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 03:08 PM EST (#76317) #
I thought Rosario's inside fastball was where he wanted it too. (Delgado was hit the previous inning.)
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_Steve Z - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 04:09 PM EST (#76318) #
After giving up two homers today (to Andy Dominique and Terry Shumpert, no less) it's fair to say Talley Haines' days in a Jays uni are almost over. If the Jays go with 11 pitchers on opening day, the pen is shaping up like this:

1. Lopez
2. Ligtenberg
3. Speier
4. Adams
5. Kershner
6. de los Santos (but he'll need to get some innings in, and soon)
7. Chulk (beats out Durocher because he's aleady on the 40-man roster, and has impressed). File, Miller, Chen, Durocher, and Maurer should contribute to a deep Syracuse pitching staff.
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_Steve Z - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 04:24 PM EST (#76319) #
... and Lopez is the opening day closer (not that the Jays will need one on opening day!!)
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Coach - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 04:46 PM EST (#76320) #
Steve, I think you're right about Haines, who was worth looking at, but not quite ready for prime time. I also agree that de los Santos needs to get some work in, but it's not a big deal if Kershner is the only southpaw -- Adams can get out lefty hitters. Maurer must be ahead of Chen, and there's always big Mark Lukasiewicz. The former Jay farmhand spent last year in AAA (52 K, 18 BB in 62.1 IP) after splitting the previous two seasons between Anaheim and Salt Lake.

I would expect Miller to get a rehab start or two in Dunedin, maybe even a couple in AA, before joining Syracuse. It was very encouraging to see him back out there; I hadn't counted on anything from him this year. Chulk looked very sharp when I saw him, and would seem to be ahead of File and Durocher right now. It wouldn't surprise me if Vinny made the team, especially if anyone starts the year on the DL.
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Craig B - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 04:48 PM EST (#76321) #
Great picture of Griffin in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

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_Steve Z - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 04:50 PM EST (#76322) #
Just for reference Craig, how do you post images?
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Craig B - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 04:53 PM EST (#76323) #
We don't generally encourage deep linking to images (if you do post a picture, please credit the original source) however, if you have the URL for the image file you can post it with an IMG tag:

[IMG SRC="http://whatever.nwh/picturefile.jpg"]

but replace the square brackets with angle brackets.
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_A - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:14 PM EST (#76324) #
As for the game this afternoon, Towers pitched well outside of the Grandslam. He struck out five in three innings, including his final seven batters. Miller pitched a perfect fifth inning, throwing just five pitches (all flyball outs). Delgado scored Toronto's only run -- after doubling, Hinske drove him in with a single.

ESPN says JFG is day-to-day with an injury to his right wrist after sliding into home yesterday...De Los Santos is expected to see game action Tuesday...Lily threw a side session for the second time but won't be in a game for a week to 10 days.
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_A - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:17 PM EST (#76325) #
Point of clarification: Towers retired his final seven but he didn't whiff them all.
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_Steve Z - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:24 PM EST (#76326) #
First cuts: Whittaker and Hall were assigned to the minor league camp after the game today. I was predicting a larger number of cuts after today's game, but I guess they'll come tomorrow (for Hill, Rosario, Harper, et al). It'll be interesting to see how long a look Ricciosca gives to McGowan, Quiroz, and Rios before they get sent to minor league camp, and specifically whether Dustin starts off in Syracuse now instead of Manchester.
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_Steve Z - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:28 PM EST (#76327) #
As it turns out, Hill was assigned to minor league camp as well after the game.
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_Dr. Zarco - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:34 PM EST (#76328) #
An interesting piece on the bats. I remember seeing the little maple leaf on the bottom of Bonds' bat thinking hmmm, different. You could definitely see it spread after his 2001 season.

I was surprised to read that the companies don't make much money off the bats. I was also surprised to see how mostly similar the bats are that most guys use. Besides the obvious difference of maple vs. ash, Delgado's was the only one that wasn't 33-34 inches and 31ish ounces.
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Craig B - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:41 PM EST (#76329) #
Hill made a hell of an impression with his zest for hard work in the big camp. He'll have more of a chance to work with his teammates once he hits minor-league camp.
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_Xander Yarwood - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 06:47 PM EST (#76330) #
I am likely going to get my house egged for this...

I understand that Griffin is not the most popular human being around these parts...but he does make a legit point. J.F.G.'s arm strength is lacking. I really dont see a problem with pointing that out...

Arm strength aside...Mr. Griffin might be able to beat J.F.G. in an eating contest. Maybe J.P can make that happen...

Cheers,

Xander
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Mike Green - Saturday, March 13 2004 @ 08:21 PM EST (#76331) #
Xander, yes, JFG has a poor arm and below average range. But, his future depends entirely on his bat; right now, he's a long way away, and the odds against him being a major league regular are long.

But, there's no need for the stridency of RG's comments, and it's plain inaccurate to suggest that an average throwing arm is a necessity for a first baseman. A useful asset sure, but .300/30 homers/80 walks is really what you are looking for, and if you can find it, defensive shortcomings at first base will be very easily forgiven.
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_WillRain - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 12:40 AM EST (#76332) #
Personally, i've never been sold on the guy and if JP can get someone else - DePodesta maybe? - to give something worthwhile for him I ain't scared to see him go. Even if he does turn out well, it's a loss we can afford.
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80s-Free Saturday Roundup | 31 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.