SportTicker: Indians turn triple play

Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned an unassisted triple play in the fifth inning of Monday’s second game of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays.

After Kevin Mench and Marco Scutaro began the inning with singles, Lyle Overbay lined out to Cabrera near second base.

Cabrera alertly tagged Scutaro, who was running toward second base, before stepping on the bag before Mench was able to return to complete the triple play.

Griffin: Unhappy Stewart looking like odd Jay out

Look what I can’t do!...Don’t let me do it!

Here is a man in crisis. From a personal standpoint, Stewart needs to play and succeed in order to re-establish his major-league career, if he is to have one more free-agent contract in him.

The hard truth is, it ain’t gonna happen here.

“That’s the hardest thing,” Stewart agreed. “The reality of it is that this role that I’m in, I’m not doing anybody any good right now. I’m not doing the team any good. I’m not doing myself any good. It’s like, what am I going to do next year? Hopefully, I’ll keep working till I find it. They might want to do something else. It might get to the point where they might want to bring in other guys and see what they can do.”

The reality is that an in-season parting of ways might be the best solution for an unhappy Stewart and an impatient, near-panicky Jays management.

Jays’ Vernon Wells has broken wrist

It’s time to blow up the team and play the young guys.

SportTicker: Blue Jays acquire Mench, sign Wilkerson

The Toronto Blue Jays made an attempt to give their sluggish offense a boost, acquiring a pair of former accomplished hitters. The Blue Jays traded for outfielder Kevin Mench and signed outfielder Brad Wilkerson prior to the start of a four-game series at the Cleveland Indians on Friday.

Sitting second-to-last in the American League in RBI with 133 in 36 games, Toronto acquired Mench from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. The 30-year-old has yet to appear in the majors this season, hitting .282 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 29 games with the Rangers’ Class AAA affiliate in Oklahoma.
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Wilkerson, 30, joins the Blue Jays after being released by the Seattle Mariners on April 30. He was hitting .232 with five RBI in 19 games with the AL West club.
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Toronto also had to clear room for Mench and Wilkerson on the 40-man roster, designating lefthander Gustavo Chacin and infielder Sergio Santos for assignment.

Syracuse.com: ‘Hey man, are you the only black guy on the team?’

That would be the Syracuse Chiefs and their co-closer Tracy Thorpe.

“As far as I know, I was the only black guy in the minor leagues for this organization the past two years,” said Thorpe, who is in his ninth season in Toronto’s employ. “Everybody else was white, Hispanic or Asian. In the whole organization it was, like, me, Frank Thomas, Vernon Wells and Royce Clayton. And that was about it.

“But in this last draft, the Blue Jays got a few more African-Americans. When I sat down at camp this year, I saw more black guys and I was excited. I’m not saying that I communicate with them better, but it’s kind of nice to see your own race out there trying to make it.”

..."To me, people are going to play what they want to play,” Thorpe said. “With all of the other crap going on, sports is the least of African-Americans’ worries. I played baseball, football and basketball, and was decent in all of them, so I think guys should pursue what they want to pursue. I love baseball, but I would never tell a kid to play it rather than football or basketball.”

..."It really doesn’t bother me. I’m living my own dream of making it to the big leagues. If I worried about that number (8.2 percent), I don’t think I’d have as good a shot. Besides, it’s not my fault I’m the only one here. I can’t worry about what goes on in the front office and who they’re drafting. I’m sure there are African-Americans who do get drafted and decide to go off and play college football, instead.”

..."This is my dream and I want to finish it,” declared Thorpe, who showed up at Alliance Bank Stadium for Thursday night’s game against Buffalo with a 2-0 record, four saves and an ERA of 2.84. “I’m nobody to say, ‘This is wrong.’ I’m nobody to say, ‘We need more blacks.’ It would have to be someone with 10 or 15 years in the big leagues. I’m not the person to go to the commissioner’s office and set up a big meeting. Not me. I’m just here to play.”

Globe: Blue Jays lose two shortstops

Ouch, bad luck game

The loss may prove even more costly for the Jays, 16-18, as the team lost both its shortstops through injury.

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Eckstein said he injured his right hip flexor diving after a ball struck by Dioner Navarro, which ignited a three-run third inning for the Rays.

“When I went to plant that’s when I did it, I did my hip flexor,” Eckstein said. “Right now it’s day-to-day.”

...

In the sixth inning, McDonald went to his knees to spear a ground ball struck by Tampa’s Gabe Gross, but then crumpled to the turf in obvious pain, clutching at his right ankle, which he appeared to roll over on.

The Mockingbird: J.P. Ricciardi Pours Acid on Decaying Corpse of Bonds Rumours

“Pours Acid on Decaying Corpse”...so they finally settled on a name for that Jeffrey Lee Pierce tribute CD. It’s about time!

After the game, J.P. was talking to blissfully uninformed callers on Wilners show. The first time Bonds Bonds was mentioned, he sort of danced around the issue by saying he might not help anyway and implying that management might be holding him back. But then someone implied that he had to sign him in order to save his job, and he dropped his usual “I respect your frustration” veneer and spat some venom:

I will never do anything out of fear. I’m going to trade my integrity to bring people here that don’t stand for what we stand for. It’s almost laughable that the fans are willing to sell their soul. For a guy we don’t even know if he has anything left. We think he is because we haven’t seen him, but…I don’t know. I don’t even want to talk about it any more.

...But is it really so ridiculous to choose character on your team for some other reason than the intangible effects it supposedly has on your ballclub? It may sound preachy by J.P. to bring it up, but I guarantee the casual fan is more likely to feel this way. I ambivalently sympathize- we constantly hear the old chestnut “baseball is a business”, but I like to feel good about the band of millionaires I have chosen to support. I like that there are other things about Roy Halladay I admire other than his cut fastball. I’m glad Scott Rolen is on the team even if Troy Glaus marginally outplays him this season because he’s @#$@#$ hilarious. No matter how much you like his OPS, there’s not one thing to like about Barry Bonds other than his OPS.

Toronto Star: The Richard Griffin Mailbag

With Michael Kay is off trying to lock down Andre Kertesz’s nephew, Glorby and Nana Grizol for his faltering CenterStage...we are stuck with Griff. (apologies to Lorne Greene)

Q: First an apology - I ripped you ruthlessly when Riccardi came to town because I thought you misunderstood the sabermetric arguments about baseball. What I failed to take into account was that General Managers need to know more than stats to be successful. You were certainly right to be cautious of some of Riccardi’s characteristics....

A: Back when SABR was starting up as a loose association of sober, serious baseball researchers, I was with a now relocated NL franchise in an undefined executive role (I am being vague about the actual team and job because I know how much some readers hate any mention of the Expos and me being a PR guy). In any case, I was an honourary, card-carrying member of SABR for all the support I offered. I love sabermetrics. But the word and the concept at some point were commandeered (like jihad and Jihad) and those who looked at baseball any other way than by the numbers were considered weak and uninformed.

The fact is there has always been room for both traditional and stat-based evaluation of players within the same organization and that is the reason why scouts and old-school GMs were upset with the unblinking stat geeks who sought to take over the game. Because while the old-school execs were sincerely in the process of bringing computer-generated data into their own old-school worlds, they were constantly being dissed and dismissed; taunted as dinosaurs of the game. It’s become better now in terms of coexistence and understanding at the executive level now that many of Billy Beane’s protégés have been humbled and/or fired. Beane is still an original. J.P., a former protégé, is a wannabe and that explains the comparative uses of Thomas in terms of money spent for value as you have outlined above.

projo: McAdam: Halladay’s a throwback with complete-game artistry

Dearth takes a Halladay…

Certainly, he’s the most durable. Since 2003, Halladay has 30 complete games; the next closest pitcher (Livan Hernandez) has 20. Heck, Halladay has more complete games in that span than 19 franchises.

His string of four straight complete games is the longest for a major-league starter since 2003 when Halladay himself had another run of four complete games in a row.

...None of which detracts from his artistry. At a time when the complete game has been virtually outlawed by baseball’s obsession with pitch counts, Halladay goes about his work like he has been studying tape of Bob Gibson, circa 1968.

In six starts this season, Halladay has pitched seven innings, eight innings, nine innings, nine innings, eight innings and, last night, eight and two-thirds. Since the last two have come on the road, with his team trailing, he has left exactly two (2) innings for the bullpen this season.

...In his current string of four complete games in a row, Halladay has averaged 111.5 pitches, or the same number that Daisuke Matsuzaka sometimes needs to get through six innings of work.

Sportsline: Miller: Big Hurt back in Oakland? He’s all about ‘production’

This is the biggest production I’ve seen...since that planned Chopra-Chopra-Capra-Capra Bollyhood venture fizzled!

“I felt like I was never used properly there,” says Thomas, who slugged 39 homers and collected 114 RBI in Oakland in 2006 to position himself for that big Toronto offer. “I had a big year here, and then I went there and it didn’t seem like I was brought over there to be the main RBI guy.

“Their future was Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, and they batted them fourth. I never hit out of my comfort zone for so long. I was in the five hole, six hole most of the year ... I’ve never been in that position my whole 18-year career.

“There were so many different people hitting behind me. I’ve been in the game too long, and if you don’t protect me ... last year, our offense was bad and they didn’t use me in the fourth or fifth spots. Only a few times.”

..."I’m running great, I’m quicker ... I’m going to go out and get hits and drive in runs,” Thomas says. “That’s what I do, produce runs. That .300 stuff is overrated. I’m a production guy.”

This from a guy with a lifetime .303 batting average coming into this season? From a guy who batted .300 or better in 10 of 11 seasons for the Chicago White Sox between 1990 and 2000?

“That’s when I was younger,” Thomas says. “Since ‘03, I’ve been a production guy.”

Inside Baseball with Jesse Barfield: Late-inning clutch hitting at root of Jays’ slide

You ever notice it’s never, say...the green gadgetry of Eco-Balls or the smoke finally being released from the corpse of Kenneth Keith Kallenbach...no, it’s always, always that dang late-inning clutch hitting biz.

I’m not going to get on the negative bandwagon and bash the Jays’ offence, but I will talk about what they need to do to fix the problem. I was a batting coach once - and NO I do not want the Toronto batting coach’s job (I love what I do, thank you) - and I’m not trying to undermine his job, but I do want to lend some Uncle Jesse advice. After all, it can’t hurt.

Now back to what I was saying, in K.C. the other night, the Jays had a couple of situations in back-to-back innings where they stranded runners on third. They need to remember that opposite field is where the money is and it’s where you get your tough hits, especially late in the game and with the game on the line.

Go back to the beginning of the season and you can see that the Jays hitters were doing just that. Getting away from that game plan is the reason they are in this funk. However, time is still on their side, so come on guys let’s get back in the groove, be smart at the plate, and get the job done.

UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news - Power prospect set for home debut - Thursday, Apr. 24, 2008

Meet Travis Snider.

MLB: Ricciardi summons Rolen, deflects blame from Gibbons

Frank Thomas, great hitter that he was, will be no Julio Franco.

NO DOUBTING THOMAS: After being benched, Frank Thomas told the GM all he needed to know by refusing to go on the field with his teammates after Saturday’s victory. “You’re either part of the team or you’re not,” Ricciardi said. “It’s not real hard to go out there and shake hands. I don’t think that’s a tough thing to do. I think that was probably the start of letting us really realize this is not going to work with Frank here and not playing, because obviously we were going to be 24 guys instead of 25 and it was probably going to alienate the clubhouse a little bit. That’s why everybody reacted the way we reacted.”

National Post: Ricciardi deflects blame from Gibbons

Oh my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Deflections of my life…

THE OFFENCE: “I really think John Gibbons is a scapegoat in a lot of cases for a lot of this stuff. We gotta hit. That’s it. We gotta hit, bottom line. Major-league managers don’t walk up and down lineups and motivate guys to hit. If that was the case, Jim Leyland would have the Tigers at 13-8 instead of 8-13. He’s one of the best managers in baseball. I think eventually we are gonna hit. And you know what? If we don’t hit, then we didn’t have the team we thought we had. That’s the bottom line. We can’t continue to compete in this league, in this division, with this type of offence right now, and if this offence doesn’t perform any better, then we were wrong on all the guys offensively, and that blame falls on my shoulders, not John Gibbons.”

NO DOUBTING THOMAS: After being benched, Frank Thomas told the GM all he needed to know by refusing to go on the field with his teammates after Saturday’s victory. “You’re either part of the team or you’re not,” Ricciardi said. “It’s not real hard to go out there and shake hands. I don’t think that’s a tough thing to do. I think that was probably the start of letting us really realize this is not going to work with Frank here and not playing, because obviously we were going to be 24 guys instead of 25 and it was probably going to alienate the clubhouse a little bit. That’s why everybody reacted the way we reacted.”

Yahoo!: Brown - Thomas has offers from A’s, another team [updated]

Frank Thomas is expected to sign with the Oakland A’s later today, according to a baseball source, reuniting the aging slugger with the team he hit 39 home runs for in 2006. Frank Thomas was close to signing with the Oakland A’s on Wednesday until another team made an offer at the last minute, according to a baseball source. The second offer, from an undisclosed team, at least temporarily put the brakes on the A’s deal, which would reunite the aging slugger with the team he hit 39 home runs for in 2006.
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The A’s have had little production from their designated hitters. Jack Cust is batting .148 with one homer in 54 at-bats, and Mike Sweeney has only a .346 slugging percentage in 52 at-bats.

Inside Baseball with Jesse Barfield: You can’t put a price on leadership

I believe it was crazy Olaf “Swede” Henrikibsen that said..."A clubhouse is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to jump!”

Veteran insight invaluable

What veteran players bring to the table is experience and know-how and Frank Thomas had both. Just look at his numbers, they speak for themselves. When a young player is around a veteran like Thomas, they can talk to him about different situations, like how to solve a certain pitcher that is tough for them to hit against. The veteran can give insight on that pitcher because he has faced him several times and can pass on something he has picked up about that pitcher. That is invaluable and can make your team better, especially in the clutch.

I remember for the “Drive of ’85” Pat Gillick brought in Al Oliver, a proven veteran clutch hitter. One of the first things “Scoop” - as we called him - did was to have the team over to his home in Arlington, Texas. He wanted to get to know us and for us to know him, so he rented two buses and had a big dinner party. He made his way around to every player and talked hitting and winning that night. It set the tone for the rest of the season. We went on to win the American League East and Scoop was a huge part of that drive.

That’s one reason why I was surprised to hear manager Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers say that “chemistry is overrated, winning is the important thing.” Well, his team is not winning right now, so maybe he needs to rethink that philosophy.

Tigers need their own “Scoop”

What they need is an “Al Oliver” to come in and take the bull by the horn. The atmosphere has to be changed so that they can start winning and winning can create better chemistry.

FOX: Rosenthal - Baby Boss could cost Yanks their GM

If Cashman wished to stay east, he could replace Phillies GM Pat Gillick, who is expected to retire. Or, Cashman could return to D.C., where he attended Georgetown Prep and Catholic University, if the Nationals chose to replace Jim Bowden. Why, Cashman could even stay in the AL East if the Blue Jays dismissed J.P. Ricciardi, who has two years left on his contract.
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So here’s the question: Is [Frank] Thomas finished?

“He looked like he was on rollerblades, sliding all over the box,” says a scout who saw him recently. “His balance was poor. His bat speed was poor. His approach was poor. He was only hitting changeups — that was the only ball he could get to.”

Still, scouts were saying much the same thing about Thomas, who turns 40 on May 27, in the early parts of each of the past two seasons. One GM says he finds it difficult to believe that Thomas no longer could contribute coming off a 26-homer, 95-RBI season.
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The Diamondbacks, already loaded with young talent, are discussing how to proceed with right-hander Max Scherzer, who opened the season by pitching 17 scoreless innings at Class AAA, striking out 29 and walking only three. Club officials initially believed that Scherzer could emerge as an impact reliever this season, but want him to remain a starter for as long as possible. Scherzer represents insurance for the rotation if Randy Johnson fails to stay healthy or Doug Davis returns slowly from surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid.

J.P. Ricciardi wants his sport to do more to bring baseball to African-Americans at an early age

I believe it was Indians leader turned Indian leader, Mel McGahatma Gandhi, that said...“I believe in equality for everyone, except beat reporters and photographers.”

Ricciardi said he has come across drafts where there have been only “about three good African-American players” warranting selection.

“When I was growing up, Willie Mays was still playing. Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey—they were all still playing,” Ricciardi said.

“Who are the great black players now? There’s A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). Baseball always thought it would be king here, and it’s still king in places like Puerto Rico and Venezuela, but it’s not king here anymore. We have to do a better job at it.

...The Jays have six non-white players on their 25-man roster (Rod Barajas, Robinzon Diaz, Alex Rios, Marco Scutaro, Shannon Stewart and Vernon Wells).

“You can’t look at whether a player’s white or black,” Ricciardi said. “If we looked at players based on racial lines, that would be going back to the pre-Jackie Robinson era and that’s not somewhere we want to go.

“I don’t care if I have nine green guys out there. I just want them to be able to play.”

Bucs Dugout: Worst GM Poll: J.P. Ricciardi vs. Ned Colletti

This has to be the most eagerly awaited match-up since Santo y Blue Demon vs Dr. Frankenstein!

But whatever. The Dodgers’ ownership gave in to the chattering idiots and fired DePodesta after just a year and a half on the job. In his place, the Dodgers hired Colletti, whose philosophy seemed diametrically opposed to DePodesta’s. Colletti worked under Brian Sabean in San Francisco and represented baseball’s old guard. When asked about VORP, a very basic and useful new stat that every GM should be aware of, Colletti memorably replied, ‘’I may be using it and not even know it, and if I am, it’s nobody’s business. There are a lot of different criteria in judging players. I think I use, um, esoteric qualitative mathematical review times five. That’s one of them.”

The ha-ha anti-intellectualism of this response must have warmed the hearts (and souls!) of LA’s media, who practically threw Colletti a parade. A parade with lots of heart! And soul! And guts! And no pocket protectors! Or calculators! Ha ha, nerds!

...What I oppose is the knee-jerk rejection of statistical analysis, and the use of vague appeals to heart and soul to excuse complete cluelessness. Have you ever seen Juan Pierre play? I have. He’s not a good baseball player, and any scout worth his or her salt should be able to see that. He can’t throw, he doesn’t play otherwise spectacular defense, he can barely hit the ball out of the infield, he doesn’t get on base, and he doesn’t steal bases terribly efficiently. He’s fast. That’s about it.

Griffin: Mailbag: Frank Thomas edition

With Michael Kay seemingly away forever tracking down The Poubelle Twins and Parts and Labor for his show...we are stuck with Richard Griffin.

Q. Hello Richard, Goodbye Frank Thomas and hello Barry Bonds? It’s hard to see him fit into a Jays lineup, but his name has been popping up recently. If winning this year is the number one priority and management is on a short leash, would the Jays ever consider signing the ’roids king?

A. Barry Bonds? You have got to be kidding. Just what we need, a huge barcalounger in the clubhouse in front of Barry’s locker, his own Plasma HD-TV, personal lackeys running around the clubhouse and IRS and DEA agents behind every pillar. Can he get a work permit for Canada if he is being investigated by a grand jury. Just what the Jays need. A guy that walks every time there are runners in scoring position, leaving it up to the other guys that have been failing with runners in scoring position. The Jays will not do that. They want to keep the payroll under $100 million. Besides, the Giants averaged 73 wins per year the last three seasons with a younger Bonds in their lineup.

TSN: Fraley: Releasing Frank Thomas makes the Blue Jays better

I’d say releasing Gerry Fraley makes The Sporting News better...but that’s unpossible!

Thomas was a deadweight. He was hitting only .167 with three homers and 11 RBIs. Nothing indicated that Thomas, five weeks from his 40th birthday, was going to break out of the slump. In his last 35 at-bats with Toronto, he had only four hits—all singles—and one RBI. Those few times Thomas reached, he clogged the bases.

...Also, replacing Thomas in the clubhouse with Scott Rolen, who’s on track to return mid-May from a spring training finger injury will change the Jays’ internal dynamics for the better. Rolen understands how to establish a productive atmosphere. Thomas never embraced the obligation of setting a tone for an entire team. That the Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005 when he was not around did not speak well of Thomas.

...The Blue Jays loudly said that with their actions. When Thomas clears waivers this week, he will become a free agent available for the pro-rated minimum. If Thomas expects a deluge of calls from teams eager to add him, he will be disappointed again. The Big Hurt is the last to realize that he is finished.

ESPN.com: Toronto releases Big Hurt after slow start

A day after getting benched and openly complaining about playing time, Blue Jays designated hitter Frank Thomas was released by Toronto, according to a report from TSN of Canada on Sunday.
On Saturday, Thomas was livid after getting benched in favor of Matt Stairs and being told by manager John Gibbons he can expect further cuts to his playing time. Thomas was hitless in his past 13 at-bats and has gone 4-for-35 since homering in three straight games April 5-8.

Frank Thomas is released in favor of Matt Stairs. Nope, still doesn’t sound right. Here’s to him bouncing back with… Seattle?  Rangers?

Country Genius: Cobb’s Player of the Day: Rick Bosetti

Ricky Cobb breaks down the career of ‘70s whiz kid Rick Bosetti:

The one factoid everybody seems to know about Rick Bosetti is that he liked to urinate on the field. Perhaps it’s an urban legend, but you will hardly ever find any extensive comment on him that doesn’t gleefully remind you this dude was regularly watering grass and turf across North America. Some stories even say he did this during the games, concealing the dirty deed with his glove. I’ve also seen several sources that indicate his career ambition was to empty his bladder on every MLB playing surface ... Wrigley Field was apparently tops on his hit list. He played in this cathedral only once: September 5, 1977. I shudder to think what happened in left field that afternoon.

MLB.com: Thomas benched for time being

TORONTO—Frank Thomas received an unexpected call into Blue Jays manager John Gibbons’ office on Saturday morning. The message was that the omission of the designated hitter’s name from Toronto’s starting lineup isn’t simply a one-day switch.
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“Basically, I’ve been told that I’m not going to be in that lineup,” Thomas said. “Gibby told me that this morning. I see it as something else is going on. We’ll see how that plays out.”

Thomas needs 304 more plate appearances this season in order for his $10 million option for 2009 to kick-in.

What Could Have Been: Michael Young & The Blue Jays

Everyone knows that Michael Young has become a superstar playing for the Texas Rangers, but what you might not know is that he was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays back in 1997.  In this article, we take a look at what might have happened had the deal never taken place.

Would the Blue Jays have become the power house of the AL East?  Would Young have still blossomed into a star player?  It’s really anyone’s guess, but here’s a look at my take on it.

Globe & Mail: Jays drop battle for first place

It was a battle of the early-season titans, and, no, you don’t have to adjust your reading glasses.

It really did feature the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, not the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees as we’ve all been programmed to expect from recent seasons.
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And by the time the frost settled — the game-time temperature was 14, with a stiff breeze blowing through Camden Yards — it was the Orioles who found themselves roosting all alone at the top of the standings, thanks to a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays last night.

The spectacle of two teams jostling for first place did not exactly capture the imagination of Orioles fans, who for the most part chose to sit this one out, with only 11,510 on hand.
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“They outpitched us, they outhit us and they outplayed us,” came the succinct summation from Jays manager John Gibbons. “But we hung tough. We made it scary.”

Frank Thomas Makes MLB History

In the 7th inning, Frank Thomas stood at the plate and popped up to short.  Another at bat, you say? Not at all.  It was his 9,832 Plate Appearance of his career, and he’s never had a sacrifice hit.  That breaks Harmon Killebrew’s old record of 9,831 PA without a SH. 

MLB: Blue Jays running basepaths more

Are the Jays running a “failure-oriented business”?

“A lot of clubs in the American League get caught up waiting for the big inning,” Zaun said. “We’ve got some guys who can hit the ball deep. But for us, it’s also important to win however we need to. We’re using the hit-and-run more than ever before. We’re pushing the envelope on the basepaths when running. We’re putting pressure on the defense. And when you do that, they make mistakes once in a while.

“We’ll have our games, just like the Angels do, where sometimes you run yourself into some outs. But more often than not, it’s the right way to play. You can’t just sit around waiting to hit, because hitting is a failure-oriented business as it is.”

..."We have some guys who can run, who are willing to run, and who are willing to sacrifice themselves at the plate if hit-and-runs are called upon,” Wells said. “Up and down the lineup, we have to be ready to do whatever we’re called upon to do in that situation. I think we’re all trying to look at the bigger picture here, and that’s playing meaningful baseball in September. We need to do the little things right to get there.”

Record Net: Sprague admits use of Andro

Also, Sprague zarathrusted...like you wouldn’t believe! (no wonder he retired in 2001)

Ed Sprague, now in his fifth season as baseball coach at University of the Pacific, said he used amphetamines and Androstenedione and once hit a home run with a corked bat. When asked directly about steroids, Sprague said he couldn’t condemn all steroid users in baseball because he used Andro, which was banned under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, and amphetamines, a form of speed known in baseball as “greenies.”

“Well, amphetamines are illegal now, too, and I took those, so am I going to stand on one side and not the other side?” Sprague said. “I took Andro, and they banned that. So, am I the cleanest guy? No, but I tried to be as strong and as healthy as I could as long as I could for my career.”

...Amphetamines, which give players heightened energy and awareness, have been rampant in baseball since the 1940s. They were not banned by baseball until 2006.

“That was an ultimate part of the game,” Sprague said. “It was in the locker room forever. It was either a diet pill or a caffeine pill or whatever it was to give you more energy, and that was more prevalent than anything else. Is that a performance enhancer? Yeah, I guess it is if you’re dog-ass tired.”

Blue Jays may scrap $2 ticket promotion

Withdrewry’s…

The Toronto Blue Jays may scrap their $2 Tuesdays ticket promotion after ugly brawls erupted in the stands during the discount night’s season debut.

Team president Paul Godfrey watched the fights from his private box during Tuesday’s 9-8 loss to Oakland and decided immediately that alcohol sales would be barred from the $2 sections for the three remaining promo dates this season: May 6 versus Tampa Bay, May 20 versus the Angels, and June 10 versus Seattle.

If trouble continues despite the ban, the program won’t return in 2009.

“We’re not going to tolerate that kind of behaviour,” Godfrey said before Wednesday’s contest. “You don’t associate that with Toronto and you don’t associate that with this ball park. It’s not going to continue.”

...Both times the trouble was in the upper 500 level of the Rogers Centre and was “alcohol related” according to Godfrey.

“It’s really unfortunate some fans feel like it’s a night club here,” he said. “The few can always ruin it for the majority.”