2004 was a forgettable year for the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans, as the club floundered its way to 94 losses and the AL East cellar, a locale not visited by this club since 1997. With it all said and done, who were the culprits responsible for the mess? Who on the club turned in an individual performance not deserving of a Last Place label? The Batter’s Box roster has handed out grades for all of the good, the bad, and the ugly 2004 Jays, and over the next 3 days we’ll present these assessments.
Dear George,
I hope you don't mind the informality of this letter, but I really feel that I know you after watching all of those Seinfeld reruns.
Here's the last in a series of monthly report cards for the Blue Jays for 2004. Executive summary: blaah.
Periodically throughout the offseason, I'll be posting snapshots of how next years team is shaping up. This will include the likely 25-man roster if the season started today, and discussion of payroll, recent changes(trades, free agent signings), and specific positions of weakness or potential change.
Most people in these parts are assuming that Carlos Delgado will be elsewhere in 2005. While I haven't given up hope yet, I'm pretty much assuming that too. This leads to the next question: where will he go?
To try to answer this question, I took a look at what the other teams have at first base, and their contract status, and then estimated the probability of their trying to pursue Delgado.
We're down to the final two weeks of the season and there is still no clear favourite for the NL wildcard. One thing that has changed is that the Giants have crept up on the Dodgers (2.5 games behind) and with 6 games remaining against their natural enemies, Bonds, Schmidt & Associates have a decent shot at catching the Depodestas.
Dear Nomar,
You are at a great baseball crossroads right now. No doubt you will spend this winter trying to decide what path to take, and there will be a lot of people trying to influence your decision. I'd like to ask you to consider a path that may not even be on your radar screen right now: Toronto.
Growing up, my father had this somewhat beat-up black radio with silver knobs and speakers and a fake leather case. It spent about 75% of its time sitting on the little cabinet beside the kitchen table, next to his seat. When it wasn't there, it was in the garage or in the backyard beside the barbecue. This radio had one purpose: to play baseball games.
