These Jays are starting to look like the team that was ADVERTised before the season.

Let's hope the Jays keep this streak going - after all, we all know there's Safety in Numbers.

Wow, I didn't realize there were two Paul D's here.

Predictions:
Friday: Blue Jays win 6-0
Saturday: Blue Jays win 13-2
Sunday: Bluw Jays win 7-5

Today's daily diversion is gold.

Paul, the O-Drummer is Bird Droppings; Aaron the Signmaster is the vocal and spiritual leader of the Cheer Club.

Just a reminder to everyone who has signed up -- and a last-minute invitation to everyone else -- that tomorrow is our book signing with Rob Bradford, author of Chasing Steinbrenner. See this thread for details; there's still room at Alice Fazooli's for the 1:30 lunch and in our loud, enthusiastic section at the 4:00 game.

The Return of Kelvim is sure to be great fun; I look forward to chanting his name. Escobar had some criticism (registration required, or bselig works) for his former employers the other day, but surprisingly, not the current regime:

"They were always complaining about me saying, 'You have to get more consistent.' Consistent, consistent, consistent. I got sick of it," Escobar said. "I was not going to do them any favors. Why should I? One year, they signed everybody - Billy Koch, Chris Carpenter, everybody - but me. I had better numbers than some of those guys. They were always talking about my inconsistency."

Gee, I wonder why. Kelvim also alleges that Gord Ash & Co. signed him illegally.

"'You have to get more consistent.' Consistent, consistent, consistent. I got sick of it."

Shades of Ruben Sierra and his complaint about playing in New York: "All they care about over there is winning."

K. Escobar, malcontent
16 GS, 4-5, 3.94, 98 IP, 93 H, 37 BB, 77 K, 1.32 WHIP
$5.75M in 2004 ($13M to come 2005-06)

M. Batista, mentor
18 GS, 8-5, 3.85, 117 IP, 114 H, 56 BB, 71 K, 1.37 WHIP
$3.6M in 2004 ($10M to come 2005-06)

Yeah, the Blue Jays really got burned on that exchange.

Escobar: 4 - 5, 3.94 ERA 37 BB, 77 SO, makes $6.5 million
Batista: 8 - 5, 3.85 ERA 56 BB, 71 SO, makes approx $4.5 million
Lilly: 7 - 5, 4.01 ERA 44 BB, 90 SO, makes approx $3.5 million

Does Escobar have no shame? All of these pitchers are pretty close though Escobar seems to have few wins for a top team. If you're willing to pay $6 million for 12 wins (that's what I think Escobar will average each of the next three years) then he's fine but he shouldn't go ripping teams that may not think he's worth the bother. I'd totally write him off but he may pitch well on Saturday, or he may drink until dawn with Raul and mail it in for 4 1/3 innings.

Coach is right, that was Mike B, aka bird droppings. I'm recognizeable because I have a goatee, glasses and a new grey home cap. And I'm usually shouting.

I still can't believe the O-Drum was on Conan.

Could anybody who watched last night's game in its entirety (I only saw the last 3 innings) tell me how Justin Leone looked with his glove down at 3rd. I'm rooting for him to displace Willie Bloomquist on Seattle's bench.

I'm excited about today's Cheer Club session. Wednesday's was solid and yesterday was outstanding, especially with a small turnout.

Jordan and I obviously had the same impulse but Jordan had access to salary figures as well. It truly amazes me that guys like Escobar complain. Not sure if the Jays did sign him illegally but I wouldn't mind being drafted into a millionairs lifestyle. Christ, you'd think they made him a child slave.

Could anybody who watched last night's game in its entirety (I only saw the last 3 innings) tell me how Justin Leone looked with his glove down at 3rd. I'm rooting for him to displace Willie Bloomquist on Seattle's bench.

I didn't see the whole game either, but Faulds and Cerutti did mention that his fielding was fairly impressive. Whether that comforts or frightens you, I leave for you to decide.

For the record, I like Cerutti. Faulds has come a long way in the last couple of years, but there's still a ways to go.

Batista: 8 - 5, 3.85 ERA 56 BB, 71 SO, makes approx $4.5 million
Lilly: 7 - 5, 4.01 ERA 44 BB, 90 SO, makes approx $3.5 million

Lilly is making 1.9 MM this year.

From Dugout Dollars:

Lilly
2004: 1.90 MM
2005: 3.10 MM
salary cap: 2.5MM

Batista
2004: 3.60 MM
2005: 4.75 MM
2006: 4.75 MM
salary cap: 4.43MM

I still have no idea why last year's free agent market valued Escobar at 2MM more than Batista. Complete insanity.

Kudos to JP Ricciardi getting Batista signed for 3 years at bargain rates. There were a lot of teams after Batista, which makes the signing even more impressive.

What an exciting finish. Hopefully something like that will really get Delgado going.

The diversion is great. I do some tech support and believe me, it's not just the tech's that mess up.
The best one I had was a call from a woman who said she couldn't find any of her programs anymore. I had been to her office the previous today and everything was working fine.

Me: What do you mean you can't find any of your programs?

Her (in a panic): There's nothing, no Word, no E-mail, nothing!

Me: What screen do you have in front of you now?

Her: Nothing, all black.

Me (silently groaning): Is there a light on by your monitor?

Her: Yes, it's orange.

Me: Push the round button that's beside where you put your disks in.

Her (silent for a bit): Wait, something's happening...I see something...I have a logon screen!

I'm also amazed by how many remedial computer users think their monitor is their computer.

I still have no idea why last year's free agent market valued Escobar at 2MM more than Batista

I guess a market with such a limited number of buyers is prone to inefficiencies ?
Mike, is there a really big word for this ?

I didn't see the whole game either, but Faulds and Cerutti did mention that his fielding was fairly impressive. Whether that comforts or frightens you, I leave for you to decide.

re: Leone

His hitting was quite a bit better than I expected. Based on his minor league numbers, I thought he would be a big, all or nothing slugger. Instead he looked athletic, and his bat looked reasonably quick. He also stole a base last night.

Heh, customer who was just in my lab:

"You were at the Blue Jays game last night. I saw you on TV."

Hello, Z-list celebrity! ;)

One year, they signed everybody - Billy Koch, Chris Carpenter, everybody - but me.

This is probably Escobar's most valid complaint. Gord Ash went around signing anybody with a pulse to a long-term deal. Homer Bush, Joey Hamilton, Billy Koch... When Joey Hamilton merits a three-year deal and you don't, what does that say about the faith the organization has in you?

Hello, Z-list celebrity! ;)

Before you know it you might find yourself hanging around in the same circle as Tina Yothers and Keshia Knight-Pulliam.

A couple quick hits:

1 - Hinkse's avg is is 275 and his obp 349. Even though his slg is still low, he's quietly brought his numbers back up to respectability. Very nice to see.

2- The Jays are still only 8 games out of the playoffs. Still not likely, but never say never!

3- Here's one for those who like to analize things. I would like to submit that the talent on the year's Jays...sorry Blue Jays, and the St. Louis Cardinals are incredible similar, except one team has either maximized it's talent or players/pitchers are currently playing way over their abilities, and one team hasn't (I'm pretty sure you can figure out which team falls into what category!) Anyone care to prove or disprove this surface-based observation?

Christopher...

I hear you, people can be pretty stupid... the difference though, is when they are calling a "help" line, they are entitled to it...

I think its fair of the tech's to have a laugh over it, the "coffee cup holder" and the power off in the whole building jokes ARE pretty funny... but no tech ever lost all his data, because a customer didn't know how to fix a driver without reformatting

Andrew, do you by any chance go to practically all of the Blue Jays games? And say hi to the players when you do?

the difference though, is when they are calling a "help" line, they are entitled to it...

Absolutely. I've been on both sides of it. Trying to get something out of Microsoft can be a chore.
Luckily I only do support for in-house people on our network and the problems that arise aren't too extreme.

Microsoft... still steams me...

I had Excel 2.0, bought Excel 3.0 and none of my legal forms would print, so I paid $35 to ask them why... they said.. get this, "that functionality was removed from Version 3.0, if you want it, you need to upgrade to Version 4.0 (I forget how much, about $150 I think)... AND they charged me the $35...

that is an old story for sure, but it sure ticked me off...

Rob Bradford is coming up on the Fan 590 to talk about Chasing Steinbrenner.

that functionality was removed from Version 3.0

I always find it interesting when "upgrades" do less than their predecessor.

I know this is complete heresy, but the way that Hudson gets rid of the ball when he's the pivot on a double play--well, it reminds me of Mazeroski. It's like the ball isn't in his glove at all. He's a treat to watch

I said that Barfield had a better arm than Clemente and no one shot me down here, so you're safe. :)

I like Hudson's pivot too, but Mazeroski's was supposed to have been magical. I missed it by a couple of years, so I can't comment.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/210403p-181323c.html
The New York Daily News is reporting that theYankees will try to acquire Randy Johnson and/or Roger Clemens (COMN)!

What a travesty that would be for Major League Baseball. Something definitely needs to be done to even the playing field. This is just wrong.

The Yankees buy their way into the postseason every year. How is that an accomplishment or something to be proud of?

Someone's on crack if they think Clemens will go back to the Yankees.

A lot of the time the Daily News writers are on crack so you have a valid point.

Clemens isn't pitching in Houston for the sole purpose of winning. He's there to pitch close to home. If he wanted a guaranteed postseason he would have re-signed with the Yankees.

Greetings And Such.. Foxsports Is Spreading A Batista Rumor Now.. The Rumor Has Batista To The Twins For A Top Prospect Or Maybe Two.. Foxsports Usually Has Some Reliable Sources So...

I don't mind Batista for a couple top prospects or a really good young guy...

I don't think he has the staying power to be a number 2 in 2 or 3 years.. so why not...

Gosh.. is that what its come to?.. I guess so...

Justin Morneau. If I were JP, those are the two words with which I would begin any trade calls from Terry Ryan involving Miguel Batista. And since the call would end very quickly after that, I remain confident that Batista will not be traded.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/509/4867514.html
I think Fox got their rumour from this article...COMN.

The Twins do have some solid prospects - including Canadian Justin Morneau (1B)...Jason Kubel (OF)...JD Durbin (RHP)...Jesse Crain (RHP)...Matt Moses (3B)...Jason Bartlett (SS)...

To elaborate -- my WAG of the Jays starters likely to be dealt between now and next spring are Frank Catalanotto (he'll be gone shortly after he comes off the DL), Kevin Cash, Gregg Zaun, Ted Lilly (yup, the All-Star -- his value has never been higher) and most of the veterans in the bullpen. I really don't think they'll trade away Batista at the start of a long-term deal -- that would be death to future efforts to coax other free agents to Toronto.

I don't think he has the staying power to be a number 2 in 2 or 3 years

What's a "number 2"?

I'm being coy, sort of.

While I dislike references to pitchers using utterly meaningless terms like "number 2" and "closer", I would be interested in knowing what standard you - or others, like Cerutti, who use the "number 2" label - project the pitchers against.

I agree with Jordan except for Kevin Cash..
I think he's value will crawl upwards over the next year or two, and until Quiroz (sp?) is ready, there is no harm in watching him...

Zaun is a "sell now" while he's hot, unless he's helping Towers and Bush evolve..

What is a Number 2 or a Number 3?
Mostly I think in terms of wins..

Not hard and fast numbers but something like this
a Number 1 is a 18-20
a Number 2 is a 16-20
a Number 3 is a 12-18
a Number 4 and 5 can be just about anything below that, but if you expect to win 90 games they better be around 10-12 each..

IMHO I think Bautista is a 3 now.. and Lilly too.. but I'm no pitching scout

I agree with Jordan except for Kevin Cash..
I think he's value will crawl upwards over the next year or two, and until Quiroz (sp?) is ready, there is no harm in watching him...

Zaun is a "sell now" while he's hot, unless he's helping Towers and Bush evolve..

What is a Number 2 or a Number 3?
Mostly I think in terms of wins..

Not hard and fast numbers but something like this
a Number 1 is a 18-20
a Number 2 is a 16-20
a Number 3 is a 12-18
a Number 4 and 5 can be just about anything below that, but if you expect to win 90 games they better be around 10-12 each..

IMHO I think Bautista is a 3 now.. and Lilly too.. but I'm no pitching scout

Gosh, it doesn't take a very big "twitch" to double post... sorry..

Boston and Oakland currently sit tied for the AL Wild Card, each with a .554 winning percentage. That's 90 wins in a full season.

The Jays would have to go 51-26, or .662, the rest of the way to get there. It is not impossible, especially if there is any justice or balance in the allocation of good and bad baseball fortune.

Clearly, I am not saying that the Jays are a .662 team; but they are good enough to get those kind of results if they get some seriously good luck. We all know that the Devil Rays are a .375-.400 team playing .500... well the Jays are really a .525ish type team when relatively healthy, so with Devil Ray fortune it could happen, youneverknow.

I urge you all to believe that it is possible. Not likely, just possible. That is what makes being a baseball fan so damn fun. Even if you have to somehow trick yourself into believing, you should do it.

It is possible.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7371
Carlos Tosca has been understandably cautious with David Bush, allowing him 93 and 96 pitches in his starts. COMN. David is a bulldog, and can go 105-110, and be effective. It will be very pleasant for Carlos to have 4 starters who he can count on for 6-7 innings almost every start, and that is what he has. I'd be reluctant to trade any of them.

Mike Green, I think part of the reason they're being cautious is because Bush is going to pitch more innings this year than ever before. JP brougth this up on the Fan on Wednesday.
So instead of having him pitch 105-110 pitches and then having to shut him down in Sept, this might let him sail through to the end of the season.

I'm not sure why Cleveland would want to trade for Josh Phelps, give the presence of Broussard and Hafner in their system. Cleveland are starting to believe they are contenders, so it's possible they are looking for a cheap source of righthanded power to balance out their lineup.

Jhonny Peralta is the guy I would be targeting if the Indians are persistent. He's young (22), a great defender, and has shown tremendous progress with his hitting over the last 2 years. Even though 2 months of that development time was spent being completely overmatched in the major leagues while covering for the injured Omar Vizquel at the end of 2003).

However, they would be more likely to trade the talented but enigmatic Brandon Phillips.

Paul D, that is a good point. Last year in his first year of starting, Bush threw 150 innings. He's at 110 already this year, and you'd probably want him to go no more than 190 or so. Wait 'til next year.

In a Phelps deal I would rather obtain two of Josh Bard, Ryan Ludwick, Ryan Goleski or Ryan Garko. That might require the Jays to throw in another player too. I don't think there are really any pitchers in the Indians' system that I would be salivating to acquire.

In a Phelps deal I would rather obtain two of Josh Bard, Ryan Ludwick, Ryan Goleski or Ryan Garko. That might require the Jays to throw in another player too. I don't think there are really any pitchers in the Indians' system that I would be salivating to acquire.

Garko is a nice hitting prospect, but I'm not sure that we really need _another_ catching prospect. Same thing applies to Bard. Before this season, I would have questioned the need for another OF prospect, but this year has taught me you can never have too much depth.

The Indians have quite a few interesting pitchers in their system.

Kyle Denney has some nice numbers -- is he considered to be a real prospect, or is he fringy?

An intriguing "failed prospect" is Jeremy Guthrie, who was compared to Mike Mussina when he was drafted. He's pitching well at AA right now, but he's gotten absolutely pounded both times the Indians have pushed him to AAA.

Neither J.D. Martin not Dan Denham developed as the Indians expected (which underscores just how well the Jays did with McGowan, who was drafted in the same year).

Denney turns 27 at the end of July so I doubt he is anything more than a middle reliever in the majors, if that. I would guess that will be Guthries vocation as well, is he can ever solve AAA.

Garko would fit Phelps' DH spot nicely in a couple years. Bard could fill in should Zaun be traded, but he is definitely the last of the four players I mentioned that I would want to acquire. I've just always liked his hard-nose attitude and solid receiving skills. I think Ludwick has a chance to be a real solid power prospect if he can ever shake the injury bug... plus he would be the second Ludwick to play for the Jays, hopefully with better results.

It's suprising how far Martin has fallen, he was absolutely fantastic that half-year after he was drafted if I remember correctly.

Dayn Perry's "Can of Corn" column at Baseball Prospectus begins as follows:

The last thing Boston GM Theo Epstein needs, other than for Richard Griffin to get a job at the Globe, is my advice.

Alex Escobar's standing has diminished abit with the Indians. He could be definitely had.

Actually scratch that idea. I just read the following:

"ESCOBAR OUT FOR SEASON: Indians & AAA Buffalo OF ALEX ESCOBAR is out for the remainder of the season due to a stress fracture in his right foot that will require season-ending surgery on his navicular bone...Escobar was seen by a foot specialist, Dr. Brian Donnelly, yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic & surgery was recommended...He was placed on the Buffalo disabled list on July 6 after hitting .286 (18-63) w/5 2B, 4HR & 10RBI in 16 games for the Bisons...He will be ready next February for the 2005 Spring Training Camp"

I don't think the Jays would have wanted Escobar anyway... bad strike zone judgement and inconsistent contribution. His star has faded BIG time.

Wow, only 8 out of the Wild Card. If Wells, Delgado, and Halladay had stayed healthy the whole year, I wouldn't be surprised if we were right where Anaheim is at the moment (44-40, 2.5 games out).

Instead, we're 8 back behind 7 teams, only three of which seem obtainable over the long haul (Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, with Anaheim and Chicago a possibility if we really get hot).

Oh well, just finish plus .500, and I guess we can look positively at this season.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/509/4867514.html
Before I pass rumour on I have to mention that JP has repeatedly said that Miguel Batista will not be traded. However, the Twins are very interested in Batista (COMN). Unfortunately the Twins don't want to "give up much in the way of prospects" so I'm posting this solely for your amusement.