Interesting that Rios will be in RF for Syracuse.

Makes me kind of sad I left Rochester; now I won't be able to see these guys beat up on the Redwings.

And no more garbage plates.

I would have liked Baker's interview with Sparky to get more into baseball, but it was a nice insight into who Reed Johnson is.

The baseball.com preview is a little pessimistic for my tastes. It's one thing to predict a third-place finish but it's quite another to suggest that the Jays have no hope of winning ever. Otherwise, it's a decent enough summary of who's playing where, which is of value to those people who haven't been following the team all off-season (unfortunately, that's not us). The writing was not strong.

And then there's this passage:

Former Philadelphia Phillies battery mates Terry Adams and Valerio de los Santos

So who was the catcher - Adams or de los Santos?

After about 50 consecutive "Please Play Again" roll-ups, I angrily tossed a half-full double-double across the kitchen on Sunday morning. Damn you Hortons!

So you're the passenger...

Here's the BBC's take on a story seen first on Sunday.

This is remarkable only because baseball is SO far under the radar on this side of the Atlantic, hence the 'fun and games' slant.

http://economics.about.com
And no more garbage plates.

Ugh! I don't know how anyone can eat those things. A lot of my friends at U of R swore by them. I swore at them. Disgusting.

Fun site of the day: RealAge. It's trying to sell you all kinds of stuff, but the test where you find out your "Real Age" is a lot of fun. Apparently I'm 18.0 years old. That actually explains an awful lot. :)

Cheers,

Mike

I'm fairly disappointed in the baseball.com preview of the Jays. There is a very negative spin on the Jays, shady at best baseball breakdown, and plain inaccuracies like "Wells will once again bat third behind Delgado." Another is saying Hinske split time with Bordick. That's a stretch, I don't know off hand, but I don't remember Bordick playing nearly enough games there to say "split time," especially at the end of the season when Bordick played SS nearly everyday.

His fate may very well be decided by Johnson, either as a replacement or the victim of a trade if Johnson comes through.

This simply isn't true either. While I love Sparky as much as the next guy I don't think a solid season from him makes JP trade our best prospect.

The part on Lilly is odd as well. While yes, he needs to be consistent, I doubt that following Batista and Halladay he'll have to stop losing streaks. That's what an ace is for-to follow the 4th and 5th guys (maybe even the 3rd in a poor rotation like last year) and stop losing streaks.

This young hurler is perhaps the one that the has most fans in the great white North most excited.

Could you believe Josh Towers is the one they're talking about? Again, like Sparky I think Towers could be solid, but this is simply misleading to people who don't follow the Jays.

This is one of the few articles that doesn't mention the bright future of the Jays with all the prospects in the high minors, saying essentially that the Jays will ALWAYS play third fiddle to the big boys. That may happen again this year (although certainly not for sure), but to not even once talk about any prospect but Rios, or a much better team in the next few years isn't giving this team justice. Good find on this article Mike, it should give us plenty to talk about today.

Question for all you folks here in Da Box. This past sunday, The Star-Ledger had a little throw away "rumor" based around the A's/Jays/Dodgers and introduced the name of Alexis Rios as a possible player Toronto would consider trading.

Considering the varied and passionate opinions here, I wonder? Is there any minor league pitching prospect you'd consider trading Alexis Rios for? In a straight one for one deal. The Edwin Jackson's, Cole Hamels, whom ever. I'm curious as to all your thoughts. Thank you very much.

http://mothershipconnection.blogspot.com/
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/03/11/kim_back_for_more_on_mound/

"The three-hour bus ride across Florida for the game hardly helped his back.

'In the first inning, I wasn't completely loose,' Kim said through translator Chang Lee. 'But by the second and third inning, I felt much better.'"

Kim is a passenger

And he rides and he rides...

Anybody won any Roll Up The Rim prizes? I won consecutive donuts yesterday!

Speaking of Tim Hortons, it appears that unlike last year, if it says you win a car, you actually win the car (or truck as the case may be.) Last year, you won the lease to a Buick Rendezvous, nothing to sneeze at, but certainly takes some of the fun out of rolling up something that says "You win a new car".

I say all this as if this is such a common experience that someone among us has had this happen to them.

I've also noted that while the Tim Hortons on campus at the University of Windsor does have the RUTR cups (no double-cupping the contest cups) they won't allow you to redeem the coffee and donut prizes at their location.

Is there any minor league pitching prospect you'd consider trading Alexis Rios for?

Probably only the top handful, and I'd bet that none of those teams would really consider trading that pitcher for Rios.

Is there any minor league pitching prospect you'd consider trading Alexis Rios for? In a straight one for one deal. The Edwin Jackson's, Cole Hamels, whom ever. I'm curious as to all your thoughts. Thank you very much.

Not really. I'm not a big fan of trading good position players for good pitchers. And young pitchers in particular are such a crapshoot that they can be a bad gamble. The three pitching prospects who really have my eye right now are Hamels, Kazmir, and Joel Zumaya, and all are very young. Zach Greinke is a far way behind. If you told me I had to take one of those guys for Rios, I wouldn't be too unhappy, and I'd take Jackson. If you told me I had to take someone else than those four, I wouldn't be all that happy and I'd probably pick Travis Blackley. But I wouldn't make any of those deals without better information than I have now.

I left Edwin Jackson off the list because he has pitched in the majors.

That's only because the Jays have some older pitching prospects close to the majors who are all pretty good. If I needed help soon, say in a year, the minor league guy I would probably go for (assuming I couldn't get Edwin Jackson) would be Joe Blanton as I think he could handle tougher competition. All in all, the difficulty of developing MLB stars is enough that I would want to keep Rios than roll the dice on any minor league pitcher.

I think Ryan Wagner and Chad Cordero and Jesse Crain are all terrific prospects as relievers, but I definitely wouldn't trade Rios for a reliever (with one exception I'll mention later). Only Crain is a "minor leaguer" though.

There are many young pitchers who have reached MLB that I would probably trade Rios for though. A list - with the Mark Priors of the world obviously taken off... (and Edwin Jackson, who I already mentioned)

Francisco Rodriguez (the only reliever)
Rich Harden
Dontrelle Willis
Jerome Williams

I know there are others, but I'm drawing a blank and gotta run.

Fun site of the day: RealAge

I shaved 3 years off my actual age. The way the questions were asked makes me believe it'd be a little bit more of a difference between actual and 'real'. I got dinged on the weight fluctuations because I got fat after graduation, and then lost that weight a year ago. I wouldn't call that fluctuating, there was just no good option.

I also found it odd that they want you to have only 1 serving of red meat a week. I don't have that much red meat, but once a week or less is not much at all.

I would trade Rios for a major league ready young pitcher like a Rich Harden, Edwin Jackson, Cliff Lee, etc. A potential stud like Hamels, Miller or even Greinke I would hesitate, though. Thats not because I value Rios so highly, its that I am more worried about the team's offense than its pitching. Our 7-9 hitters are basically automatic outs, our 4-6 hitters are going to strikeout more than 400 times and our 1-2 hitters (and outfield corners) just don't have the power or speed to exceed mediocre. I think that by June this team will need Rios' bat (and I pray that it continues to develop) more than it will another pitching prospect.

http://economics.about.com
Craigers: You'd really trade Rios for K-Rod? I thought that was kind of crazy, but PECOTA says that it'd be a steal for the Jays. Weird. I'd much rather have Rios.

RE: RealAge. I shaved *9* years off of my RealAge! Good thing they didn't ask me about coffee intake, or I would have gained it all back then some.

I swear, if I had a lower resting heart-rate, did more non-cardio physical activity, drove slower, and drank less, it would have told me I was 12. :)

Cheers,

Mike

http://me.woot.net
Regarding resting heart rate: I gave blood last week, and as part of the routine checks they do my heart rate was taken. That day, I registered 47 bpm.

I may, in fact, be deceased.

http://economics.about.com
My girlfriend and her Dad have quite similar resting heart rates to you, Joe. Her Dad's theory is that you only get so many heartbeats over a lifetime, so if he can make his heart beat slow enough, he can live forever. :)

Cheers,

Mike

"Scouts rave about Rios' potential, but he doesn't walk enough for Ricciardi's liking and is behind an established star in VERNON WELLS."

(sorry I don't know how to italicize a quote!)

Has JP ever said anything to effect of him not being of fan of Rios' offensive abilities, or that his patience at the plate is so poor, that's he's worth trading?

This whole idea of trading him seems ridiculous. The Bean, Ricccardi, DePodesta, Etc. theory of building a team does put an emphasis on getting on base,it also values slugging percentage, and more importantly, it values....well...value. I don't think you can get more bang for your buck than what Rios will give you pre-arbitration eligibility.

But that's my humble opinion

Is there any minor league pitching prospect you'd consider trading Alexis Rios for?

No. Absolutely not. Hitting is more valuable than pitching, OF prospects are more reliable than pitching prospects. TINSTAAPP and all. Contrary to perception, I'm pretty sure it's harder to find a real star hitter than a star pitcher.

I'd consider it for a young, talented major league pitcher like Odalis Perez, or for a hitting prospect in a place we needed more depth.

And I agree about how weak that preview was. Not only for its innacuaracy and pessimism, but also for its apparent ignorance of any of the insights coming from contemporary statistical analysis.

Yeah, that preview on baseball.com was poor. They should at least get fact correct before posting something. Durocher in the bullpen - ummmmmmmmm, no. Check the transaction wires. he is in AAA.

That baseball.com preview is better than some I've read over the years. The worst Blue Jays preview I've ever read was in the 1997 edition of Mazeroski's annual publication. The author (who I later learned was a freelancer from Toronto) knew almost nothing about the team. He called Pat Hentgen "Tom" (I think he got him confused with Tom Henke, despite Hentgen winning the Cy Young the previous year), and apparently he forgot about the presence of Benito Santiago and Otis Nixon on the team (he had Charlie O'Brien and Jacob Brumfield as the starting catcher and centre fielder, respectively). There were a number of other blunders in that article that I've been able to block from my memory.

I've probably got that magazine in a box somewhere. I should dig it up for laughs sometime.

On the subject of the Tim Hortons prizes, I was at a GMC dealership last night and saw one of the trucks they're giving away this year. If I won one of those things, as soon as I got the keys I'd turn around and sell it to whoever wanted it. There's a lot of cars I'd gladly trade my 2001 Alero for, but that GMC Canyon is not one of them. What a waste of sheet metal.

that GMC Canyon is not one of them. What a waste of sheet metal

On the plus side, your friends could sing the "Canyonero" song every time they saw you drive up.


Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
Smells like a steak, and seats thirty five?
Canyoneroooo... Canyonero!

Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down
It's the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown
Canyoneroooo... Canyonero!

Twelve yards long, two lanes wide,
Sixty five tons of American pride!
Canyoneroooo... Canyonero!

Top of the line in utility sports,
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
Canyoneroooo... Canyonero!

She blinds everybody with her super high beams
She's a squirrel-squashin', deer-smackin' drivin' machine
Canyonero... Canyonero... Canyonero...
Whoa, Canyonero! Whoa!

Has JP ever said anything to effect of him not being of fan of Rios' offensive abilities, or that his patience at the plate is so poor, that's he's worth trading?

Not that I've ever heard. This is a very common media extrapolation, though: Since Ricciardi wants players who walk a lot, he doesn't want any players who don't walk. Vernon Wells doesn't walk a whole lot, and Ricciardi signed him to a long-term deal. Catalanotto doesn't walk much, and Ricciardi actually brought him to Toronto.

I think ideally J.P. wants players with good patience. But in some cases -- such as Wells, or Rios -- patience is simply a way of augmenting the natural skills a player has. There are plenty of great players in MLB who don't have the patience of Carlos Delgado.

Trade Rios?

I left Edwin Jackson off the list because he has pitched in the majors.

Well, if your qualifier is that he's pitched in the majors, it has only been for 22 innings for a twenty year old. The guys a great prospect, of that there's no doubt. But, considering Toronto's not without it's own optimistic stable of young arms at all levels, i'd hold onto Rios. PECOTA doesn't do much for me here, because if Alexis Rios is as well thought of as he is (from Jays management on down to BaseballAmerica, etc.) it's because something has recently clicked and who knows how much more progression we're about to see? I wouldn't have the guts to trade away a guy whose seriously drawing comparisons to a young Winfield/Gonzalez/Wells II type.

In regards to JP and Rios...
Has anyone ever seen an interview with Rios? I've seen two, and in both of them he says he's not ready for the majors because he's not patient enough, and that he has to learn how to lay off some pitches before he'll be ready. I saw an interview with someone else... Q maybe? Where he said pretty much the same thing.

Hey, Mike, not to deny that the 1980s, perhaps best represented by its lyrical bent, was "The Me Decade," but ...

3/12: I Have Inside Me Blood of Kings
3/15: I've Come Across the Desert
3/18: I Thought I Could Organize Freedom
3/22: I Can No Longer Shop Happily
3/23: I Stay Under Glass

Remember, Mike, there is no "I" in "Jays."

On the plus side, your friends could sing the "Canyonero" song every time they saw you drive up.

Considering how big and unmaneuverable that thing would be, I'd probably run over my friends before they got to the second verse. :-)

http://economics.about.com
Remember, Mike, there is no "I" in "Jays."

I don't care for those comments, and I will do what I think is right from my perspective.

Maybe you have a point. :)

Cheers,

Mike

The Jays/Indians game has started...

Tom Cheek and Darrin Fletcher are calling the game for mlb.com. Trust me, it's worth listening!

Towers left the leadoff bunt single stranded, getting the next three guys (ground out, fly out, strike out!)

I think its easier to find a star hitter, but (and here's the rub) its much easier to tell who will be a star hitter than it is to tell who will be a star pitcher.

Patrick and Dibble's candid interview with Justin Miller is posted on the ESPN Radio website (at the bittom/right).

The Jays, up 1-0, have the bases loaded with nobody out off Jason "Raspberry" Bere.

http://economics.about.com
Jason "Raspberry" Bere.

The kind you find at a secondhand store!

Billy Koch is on the Dan Patrick show today to address the other half of that story.

Hudson hit a shallow fly, Woodward (I think) hit a sac fly to bring Phelps in, Sparky was hit by a pitch (what else is new) and Cat popped one over the rightfield wall for a slam. 6-0 Jays. Apparently, the wind is blowing out to right.

Felipe Lopez and Brian Bowles were both sent to the minors yesterday. There go all the "Lopez has finally learned what it takes to be a major leaguer" stories from earlier in the spring.

Sparky was hit by a pitch (what else is new)

It's like the 3-6-3 or the pitcher covering first. One of those fundamentals you work on in spring training.

The "trade Rios for pitching" talk is a logical conclusion if you're trying to speculate on what J.P. might discuss with his former protege DePodesta. I'm sure they've talked about every player in both organizations, so it's likely true that Rios has been mentioned. That doesn't mean anything is imminent.

Even last August, J.P. didn't "know" what he has in Rios, compared to the proven performance of Vernon Wells. Since then, Lexi, who says he'd like to be called Alex, has continued to raise the bar. It doesn't make sense to trade him unless the return is overwhelming. My guess is, L.A. is offering Jeff Weaver, so nothing will happen.

Wilner update: 8-0 Jays, bottom three. Catalanotto has already hit a grand slam and is up again with the bases loaded.

Today, MSN announced a joint partnership with MLB. It seems like a great deal for baseball fans! All MSN Premium subscribers get free access to MLB All Access. (Note: MSN Premium costs $9.95/month w/ 3 months free while MLB All Access by itself costs $19.95/month).

Tomorrow they're streaming the BOS vs. NYY game.

Additonally, MSN created a new baseball portal and have started offering baseball highlights on their free broadband video site.

MSN Premium
MSN Baseball
MSN Video

Wow, that's incredibly cool.

MSN Premium doesn't actually offer me anything I would want aside from the MLB.TV, but that in itself is enough reason to subscribe, I think.

I have Premium already (I was pleasently surprised to realize I suddenly got MLB All Access for free). For people who use Hotmail, it gives you and 10 family members a 30 MB mailbox. The other cool features are Photos Plus, free Encarta, and free McAfee. Everything else is not really relevant for people who use the Internet regularly.

Regarding potential Alexis Rios trades, any thought of him being moved to Kansas City for one of their young guns? I have no idea as to the state of the Royals farm system, but I suspect they'd be interested in a replacement for Carlos Beltran, and they seem to have a supply of arms.

Regarding potential Alexis Rios trades, any thought of him being moved to Kansas City for one of their young guns? I have no idea as to the state of the Royals farm system, but I suspect they'd be interested in a replacement for Carlos Beltran, and they seem to have a supply of arms.


Unless the Jays get back something better than McGowan/Bush/Rosario, there's not much point in dealing Gross or Rios. Maybe for someone like Zach Greinke. But given that the Royals have plenty of OF depth, I can't see them dealing their best pitching prospect for another outfielder.

However...

It would not surprise me at all to see Beltran dealt to LA at the deadline. LA is desperate to land a decent bat, and also have the money to resign him. David Dejesus takes over in CF. Actually, the Royals should make this deal now. The longer they wait, the less they will get for Beltran.

There is no sense in trading Rios, we need corner outfielders who can hit... and cheap ones are hard to find. Besides, like many pointed out, there are a lot of pitching prospects on their way. Why block them and trade someone like rios ?

I would rather look at acquiring a really good shortstop in such a deal. For example, if there was a three way trade in which we could get upton or reyes I would do it. Or maybe if tampa bay was willing to trade young.

the Royals should make this deal now. The longer they wait, the less they will get for Beltran.

Nope. At the deadline you can get the most because at that time teams that contend are willing to overpay for the big prize.

"Which pitching prospect would you trade Rios for?"

Nobody. I feel the same about Grady Sizemore and Jeremy Reed, Rios' two main competitors for best OF prospect. None of the best pitching prospects, Edwin Jackson, Greg Miller, Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, have simply overpowered the opposition in the high minors. They're young and all have greater risk than any of the OF prospects. I'd stick with the current talent spread between pitching and position players in the Jay system.

I'd be a lot more interested in Upton or Marte, but that's a whole different kettle of fish.

At the deadline you can get the most because at that time teams that contend are willing to overpay for the big prize.

Paging Mike Moffatt... Mike Moffatt, to the Roundup thread, please...

I can't get that ESPN Radio clip to play. It just opens ESPN Radio Player, and nothing happens from that point on. Any idea what the problem is? I'd like to hear about the tattoo.

http://economics.about.com
Paging Mike Moffatt... Mike Moffatt, to the Roundup thread, please

I told you to never interrupt me during nap time! :)

Did we ever come to a consensus about my statement "Hardly any prospects of significance are ever traded at the deadline". It was so long ago, I can't remember!

Anyhow, the deadline isn't like in hockey where there's about 20 buyers and 6 sellers. The ratio is skewed more in favour of the buyer in baseball, so you can usually get good players for almost nothing if you're willing to eat salary. Mmmm.. salary.

Cheers,

Mike

Anyone have the Boxscore from the Jays/Indians game? I see on ESPN.com the Jays won 10-9 but it says there isn't a boxscore.

I perused MSN Premium and it seems to me that the MLB.TV offer is only available in the US and Puerto Rico (that was in the "Offer Details" link). The Canada (English) MSN pages makes no mention of the MLB.TV offer.

As well, there is a "prices subject to change", which makes me think that they'll give you 3 months for free, charge you $9.95 US for the 4th month, then jack up the price.

Todays game was very frustrating for Jays fans as the Jays led 8-0 at one point. When Terry Adams entered the game it was 8-2, however, with only 1 out, it was all tied up. It was the worst pitching I have seen all spring by a pitcher from any team at Dunedin. He was hit all around the park by the Indians' minor league players. Just a terrible outing!

Last Sunday, I watched as Pat Hentgen was hit rather badly in 4 innings of work. The scouts sitting beside me mentioned that he was barely hitting 82-84 mph with his fastball and 76-78 mph with his change. The Toronto papers said that it was the location of his pitches that contributed to his poor pitching performance. However, his mph is really well below average and he will need to raise it to stay in the rotation this year. Let's hope he can because he is a classy guy.

To Jim Acker: You can italicize a quote with the following command (I put spaces in so it doesn't italicize what I am writing:
< i >
When you are done with what you want to italicize, you would put this:
< / i >
This also works with Bold < b >.

Thought I would try out the italics and point out that Baseball America has a ranking of all the farm systems. Toronto has dropped from 6 last year to 8th this year. The Yankees are 27th.

The good news in todays start is that Towers looks to have had another decent outing. Lilly takes the mound tomorrow...

Billy Koch is on the Dan Patrick show today to address the other half of that story.

Is this just a case of Koch turning the other cheek on the radio?

Mick,

I think it's more of a rebuttle.

On the pricing scheme: The 9.95 a month with 3 months free is pretty standard and won't be changing any time soon. Microsoft is pretty good with customer support. You can call and cancel whenever you want to. I think the "price is subject to change" is just there for legal purposes.

As for the country: if you change "pgmarket=en-ca" to "pgmarket=en-us" in the URL, you might be able to purchase in US offer.

Disregard my last comment. I didn't actually read the subscription agreements so I don't know if it's legal to purchase the US offer if you don't live in the United States.

Just an opinion, but I think the idea of trading Rios is crazy --- especially for some of the names suggested. How could you trade a guy that's being compared to the likes of Gonzalez and Winfield? That's not to say he'll turn out that way, but if he does, the Jays would look back at it 5 years down the road and feel very, very bad.

Cory Lidle is the Reds' opening-day starter this year. I have many emotions:

1) Good for him, boy did he ever catch on to the right crappy team.
2) Reflects well on how far the Jays pitching has come under JP. The Reds #1 couldn't even make our team.
3) HA HA!

Thank you, Robert: Jason "Raspberry" Bere made my day.

Cory Lidle is the Reds' opening-day starter this year.

It gets worse: last year's opening-day starter was Jimmy Haynes. And two years ago, it was Joey Hamilton (!!). Compared to them, Cory Lidle is Pedro Martinez.

And no way would I trade Alexis Rios for pitching. I keep Rios, and have him collect hits off the guys who were being offered to me.

The worst Blue Jays preview I've ever read was in the 1997 edition of Mazeroski's annual publication

Yup, I remember that one as well. It was a real head-shaker. Put me off buying Mazeroski for several years.

I don't know about this year, but I'm sure they refunded Canadian residents of their mlb.tv membership last year because they had to cancel their service to people in Canada. Something to do with protection of Canadian content.

This will probably extend to the MSN premium accounts providing access to mlb.tv I would guess.

If you check the boxscore at mlb.com you can see what happened to the Jays today. It was Russ Adams that gave up those 6 runs, not Terry!

I think its easier to find a star hitter, but (and here's the rub) its much easier to tell who will be a star hitter than it is to tell who will be a star pitcher.

Come'on Robert. I know you've got better than that...don't cop out. Live a little -- Do you trade Rios, one up for any current pitching prospect, yes or no? This is the Robert Dudek of Primer lore, yes?

I wouldn't trade him either. I guess we agree. :)

(P.S. Where's Dean at? I missed his input here. Thanks to those who responded)

No I wouldn't trade for any pitching prospect.

Thanks Bob, just bustin' your nut. (Laughing) Sorry to call you out on that brother. BattersBox is the foremost non-official Blue Jays associated website going, and the BattersBox long-time mainstays opinions matter in the public forum. It's going to be a hell of a season, and a hell of a lot of fun...may we all enjoy it, from coast to coast.

This sounds funny, but you know who Rios reminds me of? Junior Felix. Something about him. If I got some quality arms that can help right now, I would go for it. Plus, we have V. Wells + many Gross + Giffin + etc etc... Trade from Strength to weakness.

Is the 25-man roster more or less set now?

Batters (14): Delgado, Phelps, Hudson, Woody, Hinske, Gomez, Berg, Pond, Cat, Wells, Johnson, Werth, Cash, Myers

Pitchers (11): Halladay, Batista, Lilly, Hentgen, Towers, Lopez, Speier, De Los Santos, Adams, Kershner, Ligtenberg

Chulk and Miller appear to be the odd men out. I wonder if one of Adams or Hentgen will come down with an "injury" before opening day so Miller can stay on the roster.

Junior was a lot shorter and turned out to be a lot older than his listed age. To my knowledge, there have been no such problems with Puerto Rican birthdates. Felix wasn't regarded as a bona fide power hitter, so I think that the comparison is not apt.

Junior Felix?? I agree with Robert about the birthday situation. The organizational thinking has also changed a lot since Felix was in our minor league system so I think Rios will benefit from that. If we are going to trade any of our prospects lets use Griffin and some of our average fastball/slider guys drafted lately to plug a hole. Right now I wouldn't trade any of our prospects to get someone elses and lets see how the left side of our infield plays before moving anyone. Why Griffin, his arm is weak and he has had some trouble staying healthy, although other teams know this as well.