Very prescient, Mike! The Expos will in fact start next season in Montreal.

Also, the Mets will announce that they are planning to build a new stadium in Brooklyn.

How about... Detroit wins the AL Central.

The following message is from Jobu:

This is probably a bad thread/time to post this but I was talking with Leigh tonight and we're gonna try to have a kick ass GTA beer club tonight (wednesday). So if you're at all interested for more details, please COMN, ASAP. You don't have to be Box Hardcores to enjoy some cold ones and meet nice people.

In a follow-up, he adds:

I'll be dozing off pretty soon and probably wont awaken till noon, so if someone reading this can be enough of a stalwart to post it in tomorrow's roundup thread, to give people who wake up at a respectable time a chance to see this and plan for it, I'll make it worth your while.....in a non-sexual way.

Oh crap! He said non-sexual? Hell...

Anyway for Jobu's e-mail, COMN.

Very prescient, Mike! The Expos will in fact start next season in Montreal.

Until I hear the results of that RICO lawsuit, I'm going to assume they're starting next year in Montreal.

Well, now MLB has Angelos on board they have at least one decent lawyer to fight the suit with. Too bad the minority partners weren't making cigarettes or selling asbestos, though.

Back to our Monday conversation: Here's a great blog post about the work of Kydland and Prescott.

Long-shot prediction:
Following his defensive blunder in the final game of the 2004 World Series, David Ortiz will be charged with possession of an illegal fire-arm. Lawyers for the Red Sox first baseman will argue that it was needed for self-defense.

Long shot prediction: Jays win 80 games next year

Outlandish prediction: "In 2004, the defending World Champsion Boston Red Sox ..." nah, I can't even finish that.

Brandon Backe starts Game 1 tonight for the Astros. Here are his career stats. Now that's what I call a Grade D prospect making good. Heck, Grade D is charitable.

Until I hear the results of that RICO lawsuit

When is that supposed to happen?

When is that supposed to happen?

February 2012.

Honestly, I have no idea. This one could be in the courts for a long, long time.

Do the BBox lawyers have any insights?

I just got the summary that the nobel committee put together on Kydland and Prescott. They did a good job of making it accessible.

I predict that within the next 12 months the Devil Rays will move to New York and that the Yankees will acquire on of the top 3 second basemen in the league, as well as a top pitcher. Beltran will go to a team that didn't make the playoffs.

Brandon Backe starts Game 1 tonight for the Astros

...with Pete Munro starting Game 2.

I dunno, I think it makes all these other "long shot predictions" seem pretty realistic.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/BA/20119.shtml
Re: Backe

Mike: Here are the Cube's stats for him that show he had an ERA under 1 at three stops in 2001. His minor league ERA is less than 2.50 and he had close to 1K/IP in the minors.

I think you are being a little hard on him calling him a grade D pitching prospect. He looks like another rushed pitching prospect for the Rays. They only gave him 100IP in AA, then sent him to the majors. The next year they let him have a whole 33 IP in AAA before sending him up again. Both times he stunk.

There are two years missing from his resume so prehaps he suffered an arm injury.

Anyway, in retrospect the Rays mishandled him and then compounded their error by trading him for Geoff Blum!

Do the BBox lawyers have any insights?

I'm hardly an expert in this, but I imagine that Florida law allows for a motion for an interim injunction to prevent the team from being moved (I'm assuming that the plaintiffs have asked for a permanent injunction in their lawsuit). The motion would likely be heard fairly quickly.

It's a vague memory from law school and the Minnesota contraction litigation, but I believe the standard may be "irreparable harm", that is the plaintiffs must show that they will suffer irreparable harm if the team is moved.

Corrections from the litigators? Mike D can use either poetry or prose.

I just got the summary that the nobel committee put together on Kydland and Prescott. They did a good job of making it accessible.

That's a really excellent summary. It's available here. I'll have to be sure to link to it on About.

Ducey, the AA Cube stats for Backe are obviously wrong. They show him with 22 innings, 14 home runs allowed and an ERA of 0.41. I'd stick with the waymoresports.ca stats I cited earlier. Whether or not he was mishandled by Tampa Bay, he had pitched very miserably at AA and AAA in a number of attempts. He turned 26 early this year. Grade D entering the year is charitable, I think. His K rate was up significantly this year, and he might be one of the few Grade D prospects who has a decent career.

Ducey, the AA Cube stats for Backe are obviously wrong. They show him with 22 innings, 14 home runs allowed and an ERA of 0.41.

That's one of the more interesting stats I've seen in awhile. How do you give up 29 HRs and only 4 ERs?

Hey, am I reading MLB.com wrong or are both games on tonight at 8:00 ET?

What brainiac scheduled that? Sheesh.

Corrections from the litigators? Mike D can use either poetry or prose.

Hmm...

To determine a preliminary injunction,
Federal courts will employ a two-step function.

Even if you show irreparable harm,
That doesn't mean you can then bet the farm.

To prevent the injunction from causing a mess,
Step two looks to the likelihood of merits success.

So the question of whether the move can begin,
Depends on whether the court thinks they'll win.

The long and short of it, then, is that a court *must* determine that the Expos' investors are *likely to win* their antitrust suit before the injunction will be granted.

In other words, even if the case drags on for years, a court has to decide that the investors are heavy favourites to win in order to block the move. The investors may ultimately prevail, but the Expos will probably play in Washington next season.

clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap

Mike, that was beautiful.

the Expos will probably play in Washington next season

Where? In the river? On the lawn in front of the Smithsonian? In the basement at Madam's Organ?

They're not going to play in Washington, because there's not going to be a ballpark.

They're not going to play in Washington, because there's not going to be a ballpark.

I think I read somewhere that they'd be playing out of RFK until a ballpark could be built. By someone.

Mike, former college English teacher here.
Your verse was acceptable, but the meter was erratic. What was that, iambic hexameter? B-minus.

You'd have been better off ripping off an established lyric such as Schoolhouse Rock:

Prelim injunction
What's your function?
Hookin' up litigants, motions and cases ...
Prelim injunction
How's that function?
Are you likely to win?
That's the court's basis ...

NFH - It's sadly not incorrect. I miss the days of Weekday Afternoon Baseball. Specifically, Roberto Alomar's homer of Eckersley.

But hey, as advertised ALL NIGHT LONG last night on SportsNet, if you have Rogers Digital, you can watch the ALCS on East, Ontario and Pacific, or the NLCS on West. I'd rank it as the second worst advertising of the week, the first being Fox changing the NLDS Game 5 into a Red Sox-Yankees pre-game show.

established lyric such as Schoolhouse Rock

or Louie Louie:

Had an injunction
That's thing caseeeeey
It'sathing called mwaaaaaaah
Blaaaaaah not there

Expos Expos.. oh baby.. we gotta go!

You'd have been better off ripping off an established lyric

F minus to Teacher Mick for discouraging originality. See me after class.

Don't be sucked in by the ads, James: you can get all four Sportsnets on Starchoice as well and have 'em all look way better for less money.

But still, why should I have to flip back and forth? Bah.

Copout: the standard haiku entry.

I don't understand
These preliminary injunctions
They make my head hurt

Bravo, Mike D. Poetic champions compose.

Stupid questions, Mike D. Isn't it very difficult to determine who is likely to win at this stage? If that's the case, how did the Minnesotans get their interim injunction (perhaps different law applied)?

Same standard, Mike Green. Those challenging contraction were deemed by Minnesota state court to be likely to succeed on the merits.

Because (a) the Twins exercised their 2002 option to lease the Metrodome, and (b) tickets had already been sold for 2002, the court found it likely that elimination of the Twins would consitute a breach of their Metrodome lease agreement.

Mick, were I inclined, I could have made the meter letter-perfect. It would have taken me a few hours, though. And as for your proposed alternative poem...never mind its artistic value, it fails utterly as a legal synthesis. A law school D for your sparse, conclusory analysis of preliminary injunctions.

I do agree with you, Mike, that it would be difficult at this stage to assess whether the antitrust claim will prevail. That's why it cuts against the investors.

One note... the court does not have to conclude that the racketeering counts are likely to succeed. There are also fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty counts, which the court could much more easily to be find to be likely to succeed on the merits. Frankly, I think there's some real good evidence for negligent misrep.

I'd be more concerned about irreparable harm... although the plaintiffs are certainly entitled to injunctive relief, I don't easily see the irreparable harm in allowing the move.

As always... the complaint is here.

Notice was filed by MLB in mid-September and the parties aer talking about some sort of November hearing on thee injunctive relief.

The likely upshot of this is that the former partners, like Angelos, will agree to be paid off - probably by the D.C. taxpayer when all is said and done - and the move will go ahead if MLB can extort a stadium.

Outlandish Prediction:
Manny Rameriez returns $10Mil of his $22.5 mil for 2005 dropping himself to #25 on the Major League Payroll list but ensuring the BoSox have enough $$$ to sign Jose Lima for the 2005 Pennant Run.

Craig, I'd assume any decent lawyer knows the difference between parody and ripping someone off. Besides, and standard (and not indcidentally very effective) early assignment in many writing classes is "write something in the style of [author name]." We learn through imitation of the experts.

I'll take the Law School "D" though. With pride.

I'm not sure what Fad Gadget will emerge as the biggest surprise of 2005, but I suspect there will be Collapsing New People, such as the Braves who fail to win the NL East for the first time in recorded history.

How do you give up 29 HRs and only 4 ERs?

Timely errors.

ALL. God save your Majesty!
CADE. I thank you, good people- there shall be no money; all shall
eat and drink on my score, and I will apparel them all in one
livery, that they may agree like brothers and worship me their
lord.
DICK. The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Shakespeare, Henry Vi, Pt. 2, Act IV, Scene 2

Ah, I couldn't resist...

Lawyers in the house, who have often had this Shakespeare passage hurled in their teeth, should be aware that these are a bunch of low-life clowns indulging in a fantasy. Its more like Mel Brooks than Prince Hamlet.

Marchman's overall point is good -- so-called "radical" methodologies are going mainstream in baseball, as always happens when conventional wisdom is successfully challenged. But I think he went awry in his assessment of the A's and Jays. He calls them both "failures" -- I'd like to have a team that fails as successfully as Oakland did this year. And the Jays' failures in 2004 had a number of causes, injuries being one of them (though not the only or even the biggest).

I think he makes a larger mistake, though. He refers to the philosophies of these two organizations under the banner of "the stats revolution." As a reading of Moneyball makes clear, Oakland's success did not arise principally from stats -- every organization uses stats, basic or advanced, and some organizations use advanced stats poorly. It arose principally from their ability to identify those features of big-league ballplayers that provided the greatest benefit at the lowest market cost. In the late '90s, those features included strike-zone judgment and slugging percentage; now that everyone's read Moneyball, the A's have apparently identified defence as the most undervalued available skill. No doubt they're already working on the next thing as we speak. It wasn't the stats per se, it was the concept of undervaluing and the research to back it up that did the trick. (Having three guys named Mulder, Zito and Hudson sure didn't hurt, but the A's succeeded by supporting those stars with low-cost, high-quality talent).

Now, we're not sure what system the Jays are using -- unlike the A's, they've been wise enough not to broadcast their strategy nationwide --but as a low-budget team, they'll have to find ways to compete against richer competition, just as the A's did. And that brings me to this point: just as it turned out premature to label the Jays a success based on their 86 wins last season, it's equally premature to label them a failure based on their 94 losses this season. Oakland didn't hit the ground running under Billy Beane either, and he had been in that organization longer. It might sound like an excuse to some, but the fact remains that the Jays organization had a long way to come from its drifting years under Gord Ash. Three years ago, Baseball America listed these players as the club's top ten prospects:

1. Vernon Wells
2. Felipe Lopez
3. Cesar Izturis
4. Joe Lawrence
5. Bob File
6. Charles Kegley
7. Brian Cardwell
8. Pasqual Coco
9. Jay Gibbons
10. Matt Ford

I call that dead in the water, organizationally speaking, and a testament to what has been put in place since Ricciardi arrived. There are still substantial questions to answer about the big-league operation, but the franchise is in much, much better shape today than when Ash left. This was a very disappointing season that has raised a number of doubts, but I'm not yet prepared to call this administration or its approach a failure.

Try mentioning Shakespeare when you're in the jury box being questioned ... it's a guar-an-teed dismissal. Actually, anyone with two Master's Degrees like I have is usually dismissed anyway. They don't want none o them eggheads who overthink things on the panel.

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/discuss/msgReader$328#345
Magpie, that Henry V passage has indeed had a long history of anti-lawyer usage, and we're accustomed by now to dismiss it by pointing out that the characters who speak it are knaves and traitors plotting rebellion and bloodshed; lawyers, we proudly proclaim, are the first ones in the line of fire when anarchists mean to do evil.

But I came across a fascinating piece the other day that argues that Shakespeare might actually have intended to censure lawyers in that passage, because in Henry's day, "lawyers were seen as protecting the privileged and corrupt establishment, as part of the resistance to needed social change and justice." Lawyers were seen by the proletariat as supporting the continued existence of serfdom and extragavant tax rates, and were despised as a result. COMN -- it's near the bottom of the entry, but the whole thing makes very good reading.

First Nobel-prize-winning economics, now Shakespeare and legal history... it must be the off-season.

The likely upshot of this is that the former partners, like Angelos, will agree to be paid off - probably by the D.C. taxpayer when all is said and done - and the move will go ahead if MLB can extort a stadium.

OK, that's gotta be the Least Outlandish Prediction...

we're not sure what system the Jays are using

Actually in some ways its looked more like what John Hart did in Cleveland ten years ago than anything Oakland has done. First of all, produce a lot of good young players, and lock up the ones you like. If you can.

Cleveland didn't develop all the young talent - they obtained Alomar, Lofton, Mesa, and Sorrento in trades. But none of them, with the possible exception of Mesa, were established major leaguers when they traded for them.

1990 - Alomar and Baerga
1991 - Belle and Nagy
1992 - Lofton and Sorrento (Big Step Forward 57 wins to 76)
1993 - Mesa (Season from Hell - not the 76 wins, the Boat Accident
1994 - Thome and Ramirez.

By which time, they were a .584 team. In 1995 they just exploded on the AL...

Magpie, you truly are a king among kings. Thank you for your efforts. And true to my word I have prepared a non-sexual prize for you. My trip to Montreal in comic book form!

PS. Beer Club should be fun tonight, the more the merrier, support your local bauxite parties and you will be rewarded in the afterline. COMN.

Jordan, I agree with your assessment of how poor a top 10 list of prospects that was but I do not share your enthusiasim in regards to the job JP has done with stocking this same system. Low A was almost completely barren of any prospect talent and in High A it was mainly guys who were pre-JP getting any ink. There are guys who have made the show already who were JP signs and that is good but I don't see the system stocked with guys like yourself and some others do.

DID YOU GET PLA$TERED IN MONTREAL JOBU?

Jordan, I like kicking Gord Ash as much as the next guy, but don't kick him for Baseball America's mistakes. Also in the Jays system - and considered less impressive prospects than Kegley, Cardwell and Coco - were people like McGowan, League, Phelps, Hudson, Chacin, Gross, Reed Johnson, Ryan Freel,, Mark Hendricksen, and I think even Quiroz and Rosario and I'm probably overlooking another half dozen guys. Many of those were in low-A or SS, and BA sensibly discounts their potential, but still, the overall system was not as barren as that top-10 list might lead you to believe.

I think the comic strip speaks for itself doesn't it Snake?

Jordan, you know what's weird about that BA prospect list from 3 years ago. It is conceivable that 5 of them (Wells, Lopez, Izturis, Gibbons and Ford) will end up as solid major leaguers or better. It would be an upset, I'll grant you, but I think you may be a bit harsh on the Ash/Wilken regime.

But, of our current top 10 (Hill, Banks, League, Rosario, Marcum, Chacin, McGowan, Vermilyea, Hattig, Purcey), it might very well be in 3 years that the number of prospects who conceivably could end up as solid major leaguers or better is 6 or so. I do like them a fair bit better though.

The Jays haven't drafted a lot of high school talent very high so low-A hasn't been the breeding ground of many highly ranked prospects. Most of the better prospects skip straight to Dunedin. From the 2002 draft Adams, Bush, Maureau, Peterson, Pleiness, and others went right to Dunedin. From 2003, Banks, Marcum (after a stop in Charleston), Vermilyea, Vito, and others went straight to Dunedin while Hill went to New Hampshire. From the 2004 draft, Purcey, Jackson, Thigpen, and Lind will all probably reach Dunedin out of spring training.

The strength of the Jays system under this plan should be bottom heavy and middle to top heavy. Low-A is going to be neglected son because the majority of the players drafted will be too advanced for the level.

Some of the younger guys signed in 2002 and 2003 will probably make Lansing or start there this year. Rodriguez, Cheng, Martin, Thomas, and others should be there some time this year. The two Romeros will probably move up from low-A this year. That team will never be overly stocked under the current draft plan but they'll get a few noteworthy players each season. After a couple of more drafts and a couple of more years of development, the system should be more balanced.

ESPN says the Jays sent outright pitchers Sean Douglass, Bob File and Mike Nakamura and infielders Howie Clark and Jorge Sequea to Syracuse of the International League (AAA); announced catcher Bobby Estalella has opted for free agency.

What the hell was the Soviet flag doing, Jobu? Does anyone know? Is it still 1989 somewhere?

I actually had a CCCP hockey sweater. Back in my ball-hockey days. We played regularly, and the other guys got to be Team Canada. So were the Russkies. Nevertheless, my buddy Ron and I would bellow out the Soviet National Anthem before every game. Making up our own words of course. That tune's had a few lyric changes over the years...

Shakespeare might actually have intended to censure lawyers in that passage

I am deeply, and reflexively, suspicious of any argument that includes the words "Shakespeare intended." For one thing, he's been dead almost 400 years and didn't leave any clues. I am confident about exactly one thing - he wanted to make the groundlings happy, so he could bring home the bling-bling. We're pretty sure about that.

There is actually a school of thought that Shakespeare, while not a lawyer, may have done some clerking in a legal office. Probably in the 1580s. There is absolutely no evidence for this, of course, because there's no evidence for anything with this guy. Its just that some of the plays, especially Hamlet do seem to show some acquaintance with legal jargon.

And like many men of his time, he was inordinately fond of suing his neighbours.

Personally, I think he used what I think of as his most likely method of learning anything - sit in a bar all night with some lawyer and let him talk.

Is that French sign saying "avoid the night" or something similar? It's been three years since I took French class.

I just thought of this now, though it's probably been mentioned elsewhere: would the media make a big deal of a team from Massachusetts playing a team from Texas for the World Series a matter of days before the U.S. election? By which clever nickname would future generations remember the 2004 World Series?

There are guys who have made the show already who were JP signs and that is good but I don't see the system stocked with guys like yourself and some others do.

Like Baseball America do? The Jays system was eighth in their preseason rankings. I don't know where they are now but the BA guys have been consistently complementary of the Jays' drafts and how they are doing with the farm system.

Is that French sign saying "avoid the night" or something similar?

"The evening, avoid..." or "In the evening, avoid..."

It makes no sense.

What the hell was the Soviet flag doing, Jobu? Does anyone know? Is it still 1989 somewhere?

Have you seen the people? It's ALWAYS 1989 in Montreal :).
But on a more accurate note, they had all the flags up of countries who participated in the Summer Olympics whenever it was Montreal hosted it, and in keeping with Olympic stadium renovations, haven't gotten around to changing it since then. Then I ran into the gift shop to see if they had a miniature soviet flag for my desk but no luck.

Is that French sign saying "avoid the night" or something similar? It's been three years since I took French class.

Hell if I know. Far as I know it could be saying "Get out of the science center you dirty anglophone".

Still pimping the beer club, come one come all for a magical evening. Should be at York U. COMN for more info.

Off the wall Prediction for 2005: Ken Griffey Jr. plays at least 160 games during the regular season for the Yankees and becomes media darling. During game 7 of the World Series he is tagged out trying to go home from third on a sacrafice fly after his hamstring spontaneously combusts. This effectively costs the Yankees the series when Randy Johnson, working on short rest, gives up the winning run the next inning.

George immediately orders Cashman to sign all available free agents and sets up 7 AAA teams in an attempt to guanantee a world series.

sorry should be "guarantee" a world series

Is that French sign saying "avoid the night"

I hope so. We need more weird and cryptic signs. This is the real beginning of wisdom, the recognition that you are deeply, deeply confused

Get out of the science center you dirty anglophone

This is almost certainly the true meaning. I am confident that the code has been cracked...

My buddy Greg's wife is from Montreal, and apparently anglophones are called "blokes." That's what she calls them anyway.

Which is just fine with me. Hey, I'm Michael Caine.

Cool, I call Sean Connery.

I'm a trendy tote-bag!

Hey, I'm Michael Caine.

A Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, are you?

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3079424
Just read over at SportingNews.com that the Angels are going after the Big Unit, Orlando Cabrera and Jaret Wright while the O's might go after Magglio rather than Beltran. COMN

I also just heard that the Texas trade went through- Wells straight up for C.H.Park (*smirks at unclever joke*)....plus I ate my own poop last night

I ate my own poop last night

I see you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night too!

If Jobu gets to be Sean Connery, I call Annette Crosbie, the only other IMDb entry from Midlothian, Scotland.

And I actually was at a Holiday Inn Express this weekend. Their breakfast sucks, but I somehow got ESPN.

I ate my own poop last night

I see you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night too!

LOL.

When I was in highschool I thought it was hilarious to post up the following sign in McDonald's bathrooms:

DO NOT FLUSH TOILET
WE HAVE A MEAT SHORTAGE

From AP: "Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal turned himself in to the Cobb County Jail on Tuesday to serve a 21-day sentence on a probation violation. A judge decided last week to allow Furcal to participate in the playoffs despite a probation violation on a drunken driving charge."

Whoever said justice is equal for all is either blindly optimistic or full of crap. Wonder if I'd get a delayed sentence if I broke probation?

I would love to take a flier on Chan Ho Park.

Of course, I wouldn't want to fork out $ 13 million this year and again next year to do it.

But over and over again, pitchers turn 30 and go through a career crisis - they run into some injuries, they lose a little off the fastball. Some never come out the other side, but some do re-emerge as effective as they ever were.

Chan Ho Park compounded his woes by combining all this with a move from a terrific pitcher's park in the NL to a terrific hitter's park in the AL.

But as Joaquin used to say, youneverknow....

When I was in highschool I thought it was hilarious to post up the following sign in McDonald's bathrooms:

We used to go to the Golden Griddle near-ish to Ryerson and put RYERSON DIPLOMA, TAKE ONE on the toilet paper dispensers.

Weird...thought someone would have recognized the will ferrel quote...

Craig B, I'm talking about JP stocking the system and the lack of prospects at A-ball acquired by JP. The system ranking by BA in the spring included a lot of guys who debuted this season with the Jays who were in place when JP took over.

Wonder if I'd get a delayed sentence if I broke probation?

Yes, yes you would if there was an exigent reason why the sentence should be delayed. This sort of thing happens all the time. Don't let me get in the way of your pointless rage, though, by all means.

And BA's high rankings of JP's drafts? I guess that had nothing to do with JP either.

As for the clever nickname, that would depend on whether or not the Astros put up the W, by George, or if Boston could Kerry the day.

Hey Mike, is there an interpreter on hand for tonight?

Jordan, do you have names 11-30 on BA's prospect list. I wonder how much it has to do with BA. There are some good players who were in the system then that are playing now.

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/tor/news/tor_news.jsp?ymd=20041013&content_id=893123&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp
COMN for Spencer Fordin's piece on the roster moves.

Wow.... I am genuinly excited about hearing the O-Dog do his thing live on the radio. This should be a good one. Imagine him as a one day commentator....classic.

11-15 on that list included Phelps, Hendrickson, Freel and Hudson. Rios was also in the system by then....

Mark, no, I just took the list from BA's home page; I don't have their 2001 handbook. Points above taken, but I'll stand by my assertion that from Syracuse down, measured in both depth and quality of prospects (not to mention winning percentage), the organization is in much better shape today than it was three years ago.

COMN for Spencer Fordin's piece on the roster moves.

For those in the know, what does this mean? Are these guys off the 40 man roster? Can another team pick them up? Could someone explain what's the reasoning behind it and the ramifications for someone unfamiliar with all of baseball's roster rules?

Jordan , Criag , Moffat the future Nobel prize winner etc...

Can I post the top 30 prospects from 2001 since I own the BA Top 30 Prospect handbook ?

...the Jays think he [Sequea] may eventually hit well enough to win a spot somewhere. He can play both middle infield positions, which could come in handy should Toronto lose Chris Woodward, Chris Gomez and Frank Menechino to free agency. (From Dr. P-F's article)

First off, I doubt Mighty Mouse and the Chriseseses will all leave next year, but the Jays think Sequea can get his hitting together? I always thought he was a no-hit player, but I've only seen him play once.
In fact, here are some 2004 stats for you:
Sequea (born Oct 1980): .266/.345/.367 in AAA
Player B (born Feb 1980): .288/.330/.381 in MLB

I'd say Sequea's line is better, but .330 in the majors beats .345 in the minors any day, I suppose. Player B is another former "middling" infielder from the 'Cuse, Cesar Izturis.

Wait, what am I looking at AAA stats for? Alex Rios' career AAA OBP is .292, after all. ;)

Wild 2005 prediction......The Jays will win the NL East....anyone....anyone

Here's what my statistical rankings say about the top 20 pitching prospects from each of the last three drafts.

Keep in mind that many of the top draftees from 2004 have not piled up sufficient batters faced (including Purcey and Jackson) to be ranked. Major league performance has not been included (i.e. minor league data), so the guys who've reached the majors and had some success will need to be bumped up in the rankings.

2002: Jeff Francis (COL), Jesse Crain (MIN), Matt Cain (SF), John Maine (BAL), Joe Blanton (OAK), Joel Zumaya (DET), Jonathan Broxton (LA), Dan Meyer (ATL), Scott Kazmir (NYM-TB), Dave Bush (TOR), Scott Olsen (FLA), Zack Greinke (KCR), Greg Miller (LA), Mike Megrew (LA), Cole Hamels (PHI), Brad Halsey (NYY), Brandon McCarthy (CWS), Kameron Loe (TEX), Kevin Correia (SFG), Erik Thompson (TEX) .... #67 Adam Peterson (TOR), #81 Bubbie Buzachero (TOR)

2003: Anthony Reyes (STL), Chad Billingsley (LA), Chuck Tiffany (LA), Scott Baker (MIN), Abe Alvarez (BOS), John Hudgins (TEX), Josh Banks (TOR), Adam Miller (CLE), Jon Papelbon (BOS), Thomas Pauly (CIN), Tim Stauffer (SD), Pat Misch (SFG), David Aardsma (SFG), John Danks (TEX), Jake Stevens (ATL), Tom Gorzelanny (PIT), Shaun Marcum (TOR), Thomas Oldham (SEA), Tyler Clippard (NYY), Matt Chico (ARZ) .... #29 Jamie Vermilyea (TOR), #39 Tom Mastney (TOR), #45 Justin James (TOR), #76 Brian Reed (TOR), #89 Kurt Isenberg (TOR), #91 Danny Core (TOR)

2004: Tony Sipp (CLE), Thomas Diamond (TEX), Jesse Hoover (NYY), Dallas Braden (OAK), Giovany Gonzalez (CWS), Glen Perkins (MIN), Andrew Sonnanstine (TBD), Chris Lambert (STL), Nathan Bumstead (DET), Garrett Broshuis (SFG), Gabriel Hernandez (NYM), Steven Cook (MON), A.j. Shappi (ARZ), Clint Brannon (TEX), Jason Vargas (FLA), Zachary Kline (PHI), Jacob McGee (TB), Robert Swindle (BOS), Chris Niesel (CLE), Kyle Bloom (PIT) ... #48 Joey Mclaughlin (TOR)

20 of the 60 pitchers in the yearly top 20 were teenagers when they were drafted (5 of them were Dodgers picks).

Loveshack:

I am not an expert on the 40 man but clearly the guys mentioned by Fordin have been dropped from the 40 man roster. I think if they have enough years (are out of options? or have a certain number of years of minor league time) and are dropped they can refuse assignment and become free agents. Otherwise I think they are required to go down to AAA and can be picked in the rule five draft by other teams who have to add them to their 40 man rosters.

Do I have this right?

Do I have this right?

Yep - notice that all of the players were "outrighted" to AAA, not optioned out. Note also that one of them (Estalella) refused the assignment and is now a free agent.

Sure thing Jeff! Fire away!

The 40 man roster now stands at 38

Pitchers (19) - Arnold, Batista, Bush, Chacin, Chulk, De Los Santos, Frasor, Frederick, Glynn, Halladay, League, Ligtenberg, Lilly, McGowan, Miller, Peterson, Roario, Speier, Towers

Catchers (4) - Cash, Myers, Quiroz, Zaun

Infielders (9) - Adams, Berg, Crozier, Delgado, Gomez, Hinske, Hudson, Menechino, Woodward

Outfielders (6)- Catalanotto, Griffin, Gross, Johnson, Rios, Wells

Some of these will become free agents, either by filing for free agency (Delgado, Zaun, Gomez, Berg) or by the team not offering them arbitration (Woodward?) That will remove them from the 40 man roster.

Plus there are a number of minor leaguers who must be added to the 40 man or exposed in the Rule 5 Draft. (Somewhere there was a thread on that - anyone remember when?) For example, Miguel Negron must either be added to the roster or exposed to the draft.

For fun, I checked the #5 and #7 picks from 1965-1999 informally. I'm really only interested in the very good to great players. The pitchers fared a little better, than for the #6 picks. The list runs:

Dwight Gooden
Jack McDowell
Richard Dotson
Andy Hawkins
Bob Owchinski (obviously not a HOF contender)

The hitters run:

Frank Thomas
Dale Murphy/JD Drew/Vernon Wells/Austin Kearns/Trot Nixon
Ray Fosse
Allan Bannister(obviously not a HOF contender)

There might be 10 players out of 50 who you'd really be happy to have, and the top 2 are real jackpots.

Who would you rather have as THRILLHOUSES' backup? Woody or Thor? Personaly I can see Woody having more of an upside.

The 40 man roster now stands at 38

Actually, it's 36. DLS and Myers are both on the 60-Day DL. I'm not sure if either will be back next year, either.

I'm not sure if either will be back next year, either.

Either I don't know how to form a sentence, or either I was lazy. Either way, it's either good or bad. ;)

Moffatt-
Didn't check roundup until tonight- love the choice of Fad Gadget, one of my favorite "forgotten" bands. Best of came out about 2 years ago, started playing them in the clubs again, and then he died...

What draw backs would there be to leaving some one off the 40 man, besides the rule 5. Say, if Hisnke was left unprotected. Why the heck not?

DLS and Myers are both on the 60-Day DL.

You're right - they have to be removed from the DL at the end of the free agent filing period (which is 15 days after the end of the WS)

if Hisnke was left unprotected. Why the heck not?

Basically, because Toronto would still be on the hook for his contract. Which would kind of miss the whole point, I'm thinking.

Whoever ended up with him would be shelling out the ML minimum - the Jays would be making up the rest of his guaranteed money.

Basically, because Toronto would still be on the hook for his contract. Which would kind of miss the whole point, I'm thinking.

Unless someone claimed him off waivers first.

Unless someone claimed him off waivers first.

Yes, but there's a much better chance that they'd claim Craig B on waivers... Wouldn't you?

Why would we put Craigers on waivers? We're not that mean spirited.

Now Mike D on the other hand...

Why would we put Craigers on waivers?

Well, you know. Just to see if there's any interest out there.

On the off-chance...

Coach had a deal in principle where we traded Burley and Mike Green for Aaron Gleeman, but Craig invoked his 5-and-10 rights, so Coach had to cancel the trade.

True story.

"if Hisnke was left unprotected. Why the heck not?"

"Basically, because Toronto would still be on the hook for his contract. Which would kind of miss the whole point, I'm thinking.

Whoever ended up with him would be shelling out the ML minimum - the Jays would be making up the rest of his guaranteed money."

- Cool, I wasn't sure how that worked. Thanks.

http://timgueguen.blogspot.com
How about this not so outlandish prediction: One of the members of the '92 or '93 Blue Jays will play with the team next year.

Nick Johnson will be Toronto's first baseman next year.