Hmmm. I'm happy that he's up. Obviously they think he is healthy enough to back up. With all respect to Huckaby, a pessimistic "automatic out" won't pop into my head each time the back up catcher strides out of the on-deck circle.

It's funny, yesterday I was looking for video highlights of Bush's Yankee stadium performance. I didn't realize at first it was his 11 strikeout-2 hitter from last October until they said Quiroz was catching. But maybe Quiroz will help Bush in some undefineable way to regain last year's form and be consistent.

I wonder if Huckaby will catch Lilly in Syracuse tonight?

I took a look through the last seven games the Chiefs played, and Q caught four of them. Tuesday night, he made a throwing error but caught two runners on the basepaths (2 for 3 on the game). On Monday, he picked off a runner. Saturday, two runners stole second. So...yeah. There's your analysis.

With Huckaby's DFA, this makes 37 spots on the 40-man roster. So that means three non-roster players can get the call in September without booting anyone off. Three pitchers who eventually have to be added to the roster before whatever date in October or November without being exposed to the Rule 5 draft are Shaun Marcum, Jamie Vermilyea and Josh Banks. I'd like to see Vermilyea, but I don't think that will happen just yet.

It's funny, yesterday I was looking for video highlights of Bush's Yankee stadium performance. I didn't realize at first it was his 11 strikeout-2 hitter from last October until they said Quiroz was catching.

Actually, that game was in Toronto, against one hell of a lineup: Lofton-Crosby-Giambi-Sierra-Clark-Phillips-Flaherty-Escalona. I think Enrique Wilson was in there somewhere -- but you know what they say about Enrique Wilson: If you remember he was in the lineup, you weren't really at the game.

I can't imagine Huckaby is racing to play in Syracuse. Don't you get 10 days from when you're DFA'd to make a decision?

I read a few days ago that Lilly would start for NH in his rehab start. Did this change to Syracuse recently?

It doesn't seem like it, but Quiroz is still just 23 years old. Do it for Mike Green, Q!

Nevermind, I'm behind on my Fordin Notes. It's Lilly pitching for the Chiefs:

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050824&content_id=1182370&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Since the SKyChiefs are in Buffalo, they moved Lilly's start to there. They really think Lilly can pitch sometime next week for them, so this safes them some travel costs.

I think the next 30-odd games will decide whether J.P. trades for a backup/starting catcher during the off season.
(Random 'Woah' Thought: Hinskie for Kendall?? Both might come back to life in a new environment)

It's your audition, Q! Break a lung!

I doubt that Huckaby will get near Syracuse. The minor league season ends in 11 days, and as pistol notes, he has to wait to see if he is claimed first.

I spoke with Quiroz in Buffalo on Wednesday, he says he feels no impact from the collapsed lungs. Because he did not come back to baseball until mid-season Q is not in great shape, and could hit into some DP's while he is here.

The question is why make this move now? Q could be recalled next Thursday and the Jays could carry 3 catchers. My assumptions are that (1) Zaun is gassed, (2) Gibby has no faith in Huckaby, and (3) the Jays need a long look at Quiroz to decide if he and Zaun are next years catchers, or if the Jays need to sign a catcher.

Ditching Huckaby now, as opposed to waiting until the end of the season, will save the Jays $50,000. It shows that dollars are still as important to the Jays as performance.

I can't imagine Huckaby is racing to play in Syracuse. Don't you get 10 days from when you're DFA'd to make a decision?

Yeah, that was about as serious as a Ken Huckaby fly ball. Okay, that was mean. Still love you, Huck. I can certainly see Quiroz catching Chacin his next time out -- Tuesday, I believe.

I really do not understand this move. Of any prospect in the Jays organization who requires playing time Quiroz is the guy. Unless he is catching everyday in TO, I am very perplexed by this transaction. Granted Zaun seems physically & mentally spent & Huckaby is not a MLB player, this seems like the wrong move for Quiroz'as development. 35 games in the minors with a .220 average does not wreak of success to warrant a call up. He needs playing time & plenty of it to regain his form!

I'm guessing that the difference between the number of games that Quiroz will play in Toronto over the next 11 days and the number of games that he would play in Syracuse over that time wouldn't be more than 2 or 3. It's not a big deal.

Interesting,they were set for a third catcher with Quiroz, now what? JP got one on hold? Menochino gonna strap them on...

One other factor on the timing, with Cleveland in town over the weekend and Baltimore/Tampa Bay next week, that's a lot of left-handed starters (including tonight). Both Baltimore and TB are currently featuring 3 lefty starters.

This little huckamaniac hopes that the huckster will catch on with another team soon. He's a real American who fights for the right of everyman.

Great points Nigel. If Quiroz catches every third day he will probably get more AB's than in Syracuse. Its not a big deal.

I was following yesterday's game at Yankee Stadium and was very surprised to see Gregg Zaun catching, at the end of a brutal 13-day road trip, in a day game after a night game. There was no reason to start your exhausted 34-year-old catcher in those circumstances -- unless you were sending a very clear message to your general manager: I am not starting Ken Huckaby again.

One day later, Huckaby's gone and Quiroz, who really isn't ready to be a big-league catcher, is up. I doubt it's a coincidence.

In the larger picture, this is going to be similar to Gabe Gross's audition in left field last fall. Ricciardi watched Gross hit .220 for the month, then went out and gave Frank Catalanotto a two-year extension, rightly or wrongly. If Quiroz can't cut the mustard between now and the end of the season, the Jays will have a capable part-time RH catcher on the roster. Either way, Zaun plays no more than 100-110 games next year.

I can't imagine Huckaby is racing to play in Syracuse. Don't you get 10 days from when you're DFA'd to make a decision?

I don't think a DFA automatically comes with an offer to go to the minors.. he might be released outright.

Wheres the 'Bring Back Borders for a Third Time" chant.

'If Quiroz can't cut the mustard between now and the end of the season, the Jays will have a capable part-time RH catcher on the roster'

I don't see how they avoid starting the season with 3 catchers next season. Quiroz won't get through waivers, but at the same time has been injured so often that you'll need a capable player on the roster - so unless you can get a catcher who still has options, or a player who can catch and play another position, I don't see a way around 3 catchers.

Personally I'd rather have 3 catchers then 12 pitchers anyway.

The minor league season is nearly over and the move may or may not have coincided with the SkyChiefs being pretty much eliminated from their playoff race. Quiroz is also scheduled to go to the AFL and I'm not sure if that league starts in October or September.

In any case, the Jays still have to get a third catcher whether or not Quiroz appears to be ready for next year. You have to have three major league ready catchers on your roster. So I doubt whatever Q shows will have any bearing on the Jays getting another catcher. They have to do so. It's probably not going to be a major acquisition but it's one that should be made.

Anyway, Quiroz has already seen major league action, he's already on the 40 man and his option years are ticking away. It makes little difference when they call him up other than the fact that this leaves the Jays with just two catchers the rest of the year.

Ditching Huckaby now, as opposed to waiting until the end of the season, will save the Jays $50,000.

How's that? Isn't Huckaby at or very close to minimum salary, just like Quiroz?

They were bringing up Quiroz anyway, so they both would have made 50k in September. That is the savings. It's probably the 50k needed to sign Relaford, or it will get another Skychief to the majors in September hopefully.

How's that? Isn't Huckaby at or very close to minimum salary, just like Quiroz?

Yes, but instead of paying both of them, the Jays are now just going to pay Quiroz.

I don't think the Jays will carry three catchers. I think they'll carry two guys in Toronto and keep a tweener at Syracuse to be called up as needed. I don't think I've seen anything in JP's philosophy of roster management that supports carrying a guy whose job is to catch 20 games a season and be the last weak bat off the bench.

How the heck do you release a guy who was your leading hitter during this disastrous 13 game road trip? Huckaby was mashing at a .667 clip according to Richard Griffin in his article, and forget the sample size argument, .667 is still .667. He hits an almost inside the park homer in Detroit with some help from Craig Monroe. What more did he have to do?:)

Seriously though, this seems pretty cold hearted by the team to let him go now with the September 1 roster expansion just around the corner. They should've kept him around in case Zaun gets hurt. If that happens, they're screwed, especially with Quiroz not exactly at 100 percent. Who would they call up? Joe Depastino? Curtis Thigpen? If the team is so concerned about saving money, fire Ryan Greer (kidding!).

There's an awful lot of assumption going on about the financial motives. My question is: Why you would bother keeping Huckaby around until September 1 if you have no intention of playing him at all for the rest of the season? Because he's a nice guy? They've already shown him way too much blind loyalty, and it's cost them not just in Huck's lackluster performance but also in the fact that Zaun's gassed.

The only argument is "What if a catcher goes down?", but it hasn't even been established yet whether or not Huckaby will remain Blue Jay property. As a fan, I'd rather see Joe DePastino regardless.

The cash is secondary I figure as odds are the Jays will want a third catcher on the roster for September, especially with Q's injury history. Right now there are no catchers on the 40 man roster, but there are open slots. Andy Dominique isn't anything special (239/336/368), John Schneider did great in Dunedin (321/443/482) but not in AAA (193/320/337), and Joe DePastino is nothing much either (269/317/386). In AA Curtis Thigpen has caught some (245/303/364 after going 287/397/413 in Lansing) but isn't ready for the majors. Erik Kratz (205/280/352) and Jose Umbria (185/227/239) are the other AA catchers and make Huck look like Barry Bonds (OK, not quite).

So the choices for a #3 catcher are fairly slim. Maybe Huck will be left floating until September 1st then be put back on the roster. Probably the best of a lot of bad choices for the 3rd catcher for September.

The sad thing is all of them are 25 or older outside of Thigpen (22 - Schneider is 25) so the Jays look very thin at the AA and AAA level. The A level has a few bright lights, including Thigpen, but right now it looks like the Jays have to find another Zaun out of the AAAA rubble for 2006 just in case Q or Zaun gets hurt.

Actually, that game was in Toronto,

Darn those pesky facts which plague me so!

against one hell of a lineup:

That explains all that swinging through 64mph curveballs. The video is still fun to watch.

Watching that video it just strikes me how much life and depth Bush had on his pitches last year and generally better control of them. The downward break he was getting on his curve and slider in that video is amazing. He's gotten more steady in the second half so hopefully we see a lot more starts like the one against the Yankees.

I can't see the Jays carrying 3 catchers next year either. I expect Zaun and Quiroz to be in the majors with a free agent catcher signed to a minor league deal working in Syracuse. Someone like AJ Hinch who has ML experience that can come up and hopefully hit over .220.

'I don't think I've seen anything in JP's philosophy of roster management that supports carrying a guy whose job is to catch 20 games a season and be the last weak bat off the bench.'


There is a pretty good chance then that they end up in the same position they are now, or even worse if it's Zaun that gets hurt and not Quiroz.

Is Borders still an option at this point? He could be a serviceable backup to Zaun.. I'd guess the only thing Borders has going for him these days are his experience.. I say if hes available and cheap then give him a shot but don't expect too much from him

Borders? Oy. I guess he'd be a good coach for Quiroz and backup, but Huck can do that too. Borders was 197/228/265 for Seattle vs Huck at 202/247/238 so it is basically a wash on offense. If the Jays feel Quiroz has learned all he can from Huck then Borders wouldn't be a bad choice to teach him a bit more, especially about how to handle the pressure of a pennant race and the like. Btw, in the playoffs Borders is 315/339/414 lifetime (0-2 with Minnesota last year, the rest is in Toronto).

If they bring in Pat Borders they can cancel my MLB.tv and I'll delete my batterbox.ca shortcut. I thought most of the people on this site wanted the Blue Jays to play well, not finish last.

Halladay's one big injury away from getting the injury prone label.

Wasn't Doc off crutches in less than 10 days?

It's a shame 2 out of the 4 years so far in his big contract has been wasted with injuries.

"Halladay's one big injury away from getting the injury prone label."

I believe the 'injury prone label' is like wearing the scarlet 'A'. I bet his teammates, Blue Jay fans, and even all of society will shun him because of it.

OK, I know this is a wildly optimisitic scenario but, is it possible that JP made a deal for a catcher that passed thru waivers and releasing Huck is just step 1?

I think we all acknowledge that the team will need a back up next year, so that means a trade or a FA signing. Maybe JP just beat the rest of the GMs to the market.

Are there any over priced catchers the Jays would be interested in? I doubt Kendall would be available in the middle of the race for the wild card. Any others?

How could the Jays possibly finish last with Borders in the team? Is he going to take over the starter's job? No.

The point here is that Zaun will not last forever, and sooner or later Quiroz will have to step up and be the starting catcher for the Jays. Toronto is primed for a playoff run in the next couple of years, why not give Quiroz a head start and let him learn from a battle-tested veteran with 18 seasons of experience..

There may or may not be better alternatives out there.. I'm just saying I wouldnt be against bringing Borders aboard to help bring Quiroz along.

If the Jays do finish last (which is highly unlikely), then losing Halladay for the rest of the season, the loss of Lilly & Koskie for an extended period this year, and the lack of a powerful bat in the middle of the lineup are more valid reasons for them finshing last.

Hillenbrand was a catcher for a few years in the minors but was nothing special defensively. He can always be used in a pinch. In an emergency, short-term situtation someone like Depastino or Dominique could always backup and the Jays wouldn't lose much more than they did having Huck back there.

Huckaby can't hit. At all. Not even a bit. So the Jays might as well see what Quiroz can do.

According to Wilner on the FAN just now, John Gibbons hinted Huckaby could be back when the rosters expand on Thursday.

Which is kind of what I expected to happen. I think the idea is, if somehow the Jays make the postseason, they want Quiroz to be on the playoff roster and not Huckaby.

The Jays have been playing pretty poorly the last couple weeks, they just announced the best player is out for the year, and with both of those, the Jays are likely not going to make the playoffs for the 11th straight year (no one made the playoffs in 1994). Yet Batter's Box is still able to muster a pretty decent thread on the release of Ken Huckaby and whether the Jays should carry a 3rd catcher next season. Who says there's no such thing as a die-hard Jays fan?! Good show, gentlemen.