Ligtenberg
Speier
A-Lo
Frasor
Peterson - closer by June - take your oick of the above 4 names for the April/May closer
2 lefties TBA

Found this on Primer, an article from a Project Management maazine about the Red Sox front office methods..."the ability to combine statistical smarts with the wealth to make the deals should give the Sox an incredible edge."

If I had an Eye in the Sky, I'd probably know for sure, but I'd guess the Adam Peterson Project just may be in full effect by next April.

Seamer wins -- and gets a no-prize for working in next year's top closer candidate too!

I'd add Nakamura to Geoff's list; he can go long and gives them a different look. It's a little scary that we've essentially got 2 ROOGYs (Lopez and Ligtenberg) and more of the same given the way Tosca uses lefties on a team that doesn't get too deep into games with most of its rotation.

I'd guess the Adam Peterson Project just may be in full effect by next April.

That's some kind of hovercraft, right?

JP certainly does very well in his initial trades with his former Oakland officemates: first Hinske/Miller for Koch

I don’t think the A’s regret the Koch trade. Koch pitched really well in 2002, and then was traded for Foulke who was even better in 2003. Foulke leaves Oakland and now they’ll get 2 of the first 40 picks in the upcoming draft.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=MLB&id=5509

Much talk last night centred on the Shannon Stewart-Ted Lilly angle, inasmuch as these two guys were almost dealt for each other straight-up last season and as it turned out, were later essentially traded for the same player, Bobby Kielty. It’s way too early to say which team came out ahead, but it’s worth noting that Kielty is currently sitting at .239/.327/.420 after 88 mostly platooned at-bats in Oakland. Considering the millions of dollars the Jays saved by exchanging Stewart for Frank Catalanotto (essentially the same player) and getting a 180-inning lefty starter who’s still finding his feet, I think they did pretty well.


Stewart has plantar fascitis. COMN.

While it is still early to say about Nakamura, his side-arm junk ball provides a different look out of the pen and he has struck out 31 in 27 career MLB innings, while only walking 4. Those are impressive numbers, and his minor league stats are nothing to sneeze at, either.

You know... I had to look it up. I was shocked that the only season in which Ligtenberg kept LHB to a low OBP was his first full season in 1998. I never thought of him as a ROOGY. 2003 was the first time LHB /hit/ him hard, but he's been walking them since 2000.

"JP certainly does very well in his initial trades with his former Oakland officemates: first Hinske/Miller for Koch."

Speaking of trades, what about that rumour that involved Ben Sheets for Alex Rios last year? That trade would have looked good right about now, considering Rios' struggles. The reason I say that is my girlfriend and I just got back from Wisconsin over the week-end after visiting family and managed to catch Sheets' 18 K performance Sunday at Miller Park. Man, too bad Pizza Pizza didn't have their promotion there, that would've been 2 slices!!

Sheets was Halladay-dominant, struck out the side swinging in order in the 5th. I really like Scott Podsednik, who's immune to the sophomore jinx to this point. Stole his 20th base on a double steal, something I don't recall seeing the Jays doing recently. Overbay just continues to swing the hot bat, extending his hit streak to 17 with a double to cash in the 2nd and 3rd runs. Bill Hall nearly ran over Craig Counsell between 2nd and 3rd as Counsell wasn't sure if that ball was going to drop in left. It was a scene out of "Major League" with Hall about 2 feet behind Counsell when they crossed the plate.

Speaking of "Major League", I also enjoyed listening to Bob Uecker doing play-by-play. Even though I find that he and Jim Powell almost sound the same, they do a great job, much like Tom and Jerry. It was also nice to hear Dan Shulman doing the Jays post game show on the drive back last night. I really miss Dan and Buck!!

Not a whole lot of Blue Jays connections to Sunday's game, other than Dewayne Wise leading off for the Braves and Chris Michalak pitching in Triple A for the Brewers affiliate, Indianapolis where he's apparently doing okay. The Brew Crew are doing alright. I miss their old M/B logo but according to someone I spoke to at their souvenir shop, there is talk they may bring it back next season and wear it for Sunday home games. I hope the Jays do something like this. I don't mind the new unis but I'd like to see the old ones again. It was also neat seeing the Padres throwback unis. Man, I wish we had ESPN up here and their Baseball Tonight show. It's great.

If you haven't been to Miller Park, it's worth the trip. Really nice statue of Hank Aaron outside and also a mini-park called Helfaer Field where County Stadium used to be for the little leaguers to play. But the traffic through Chicago is a bitch but at least you see Comiskey Park just off I94.

Still, it's a park worth seeing and it now looks like the Brewers have a team worth seeing now. I just wish the Brewers could've homered so Bernie Brewer could've gone down the slide.

While it is still early to say about Nakamura, his side-arm junk ball provides a different look out of the pen and he has struck out 31 in 27 career MLB innings, while only walking 4. Those are impressive numbers, and his minor league stats are nothing to sneeze at, either.


Tosca's gotten a rough ride around here lately, and his bullpen usage has been much better of late. But does anyone else think he should have gone to a lefty with Jacque Jones up? Nakamura is not as severe a ROOGY as Lopez, and Ligtenberg, but Jones is _awful_ against LHP. It would have been a perfect spot to use DLS or Kershner.

I thought Nakamura had a problem with LHB, but when I checked his splits it turns out that LHB and RHB find him equally baffling. Other than the Beltran and Jones HR, he hasn't been hit hard by lefties.

And as I continue my rambling, I should add that it's nice to see Ligtenberg go out and get a few solid outings in after getting lit up by Boston on Friday night.

You know... I had to look it up. I was shocked that the only season in which Ligtenberg kept LHB to a low OBP was his first full season in 1998. I never thought of him as a ROOGY. 2003 was the first time LHB /hit/ him hard, but he's been walking them since 2000


Ligtenberg's splits to date aren't all that bad. And yes, it seems like if he's facing a tough LHB, he prefers to walk them rather than let them swing away.

Other observaations:

- neither DLS nor Kershner have been dominant against LHB
- Miller is death on RHB
- Lilly is death on LHB (he just needs to stop RHB from hitting HR!)
- Hentgen has a very strong reverse split this year

DLS reminds me of Jim Abbott and Andy Pettitte: similar pitches. Note that LHB hurt Abbott and Pettitte over the years. The slider/cutter from a LHP gets RHB, but not LHB. For that, you need a curveball.

Kershner looks like he should be better against LHB than DLS, looking at his pitches and his motion. Kershner is more like Trever Miller. The Jays need a Fuentes/Mike Myers/John Candelaria type in the 'pen. Instead of Speier from COL, Fuentes might have been a better pickup. :) (Hindsight is 20/20, I know, I know...)

FWIW - According to an e-mail I received the Jays received $18.7 million in revenue sharing in 2003 up from $13.9 million in 2002.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1803536
Here are all the numbers on revenue sharing (COMN)

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3036232&l_id=&t_id=
The Jays signed Marvin Benard to a minor league deal.