Great to see the two teams I'm cheering at this point doing well. A Rays/Phillies World Series is the best available option imo. Phillies for the title via more Stairs game winning hits would be ideal.

Stairs looked stunned in the dugout after his big fly.  The home run might be something he has been dreaming of for a long time.

A Stairs game-winning homer and a Rays win over the Red Sox is pretty damn satisfying.  One more Rays win today and a decision by Canadians to send Harper and the rest of Block Alberta back to the opposition benches would make it the best 36 hours of the year. 

Mike, don't you know Christmas is still two months away?

Yeah lets get rid of the best PM we have had in recent memory. Bring on more liberal scandals.

The best PM in recent memory?  Hmm, I vote for this guy.

I just heard on the Fan that the Blue Jays have a press conference at 1.  Has anyone heard about this?  Could it be about a new president, maybe?

Beeston will be interim CEO  http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/516978

The best PM in recent memory?  Hmm, I vote for this guy.

And the best president? His namesake?

Lets try to minimize the political talk - I know I can be as guilty as anyone (vote Green!) but this is a baseball board so try to mix it in with baseball.

As to best Jays PM what about John McDonald - OK, not spelled correctly but close.

PM's who played for the Jays...
Paul Menhart
Paul Mirabella
Paul Molitor
Peter Munro

Hmm. Not much of a battle is it?

Just thinking about what the Jays should do about starting pitching.


A) Resign AJ for $15-$18 mil a year for 5 years
B) Sign someone else
C) Hope the kids are ready.

For option A they gain a pick between the first and second round along with someone's first/second/third round pick depending on how many type A free agents that team signs and where they rank vs AJ.

Looking at a Hardball Times article I started thinking that B might be the best option.

Ben Sheets: Entering age 30 season, never won more than 13 games in his career, 86-83 career wise. That poor overall W-L and total wins in a season totals might remove a few teams from chasing him, or pushing him down on the list vs CC and AJ (not to mention his acronym which isn't as cool as AJ and CC). Over the last 5 years he has had an ERA+ of 117 or better every year, 141 last year. Durability is a concern with 25+ starts reached only last year and in 2002/03/04.

AJ Burnett: was one year younger when signed by the Jays, has won over 12 just once in his career, 30+ starts just twice. Just 3 times has had a better ERA+ than Sheets worse case over the past 5 years, peaking at 125 as a rookie over just 41 1/3 IP. Entering his age 32 season wants a deal taking him through his age 36 season I suspect (5 years).

AJ has the K's, Sheets the control. Sheets is a couple years younger. Both have durability concerns. If the price is the same who do you go for? It is close to a toss up imo with AJ having higher potential due to his AL time vs Sheets NL and the K's. If the difference in cost though is $3-5 million a year then why not go for Sheets? The Jays would gain a draft pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds plus a pick somewhere between the 1st and 3rd rounds depending, while losing their first round pick (assuming Sheets is type A which he probably is despite the missed time and low win total).

I would love Sheets. I have nothing to back that up, but I would much prefer the Jays to sign Ben as opposed to AJ.

FWIW, if you use the same information base (the Wyers' Marcels) as the THT article, Burnett is projected to have a 4.28 ERA and 169 innings pitched in 2009, compared with Sheets' 4.02 and 159 innings.  I am not sure if the Marcels are league-neutral.

Personally, I'd rather that the organization wait for Cecil to arrive, Purcey to develop, and McGowan and Marcum to return.

Next year will be interesting. Worst case rotation is...
Halladay
Litsch
Purcey
2 of Richmond/Cecil/Romero/Romero/Mills/Janssen/Wolfe/someone still able to throw

Later pulling the weakest for McGowan, then the next weakest is removed in 2010 for Marcum.

If they sign someone (AJ, Sheets, whoever) then 2009 looks a lot better as, even after McGowan returns, we have a rotation of...
Halladay
Whoever (AJ/Sheets/etc.)
Litsch
McGowan
Purcey
Richmond/Cecil/Romero/Romero/Mills/Janssen/Wolfe/someone still able to throw filling in the McGowan slot until he comes back.

2010 then sees one of Purcey/Litsch/McGowan removed for Marcum. Plus, Cecil and Mills would have to push hard to take a slot and when injuries happen the Jays have a lot more depth.

While I feel it would be best to chase a shortstop adding another starter to the non-AJ rotation would be a worthwhile exercise imo as long as it doesn't go nuts. Ideally a 3 year deal for no more than $12 mil per year but more realistically it would be in the 5 for $15 per ballpark. Depending on how the budget is structured going forward it might be worth it.

Not sure if this link will work, but the New York Times has a nice item on Matt Stairs today (with a cameo appearance by JP). A good guy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/sports/baseball/15stairs.html

Stairs is on the cover of today's Daily Gleaner (Irving-owned status-quo advocate that is the major daily newspaper here in Fredericton), as he is the first New Brunswicker to go to the World Series since Larry McLean (also of Fredericton) who was the starting catcher for the 1913 New York Giants.

Apparently Stairs was asked a question about the pinch-hit homer the day after it was hit, and he responded with a shrug and said "it happened yesterday".  Credit the Daily Gleaner sportswriter Bill Hunt for reacting to that quote with a brilliant turn of phrase:  that's "just Matty being Matty".