Guelph Mercury: Argos will likely be turfed out of Rogers if Jays get grass

TORONTO — Not long ago, Paul Beeston more than hinted to Blue Jays subscribers that the team was noodling the idea of installing grass at the Rogers Centre.

It sounded like an easy answer to an annual question, but they are serious about it and possibly as early as 2013. The Jays are kicking tires now on what is involved and the costs.

The Argos’ lease and the five-year deal with the Buffalo Bills are both up this year, giving the Blue Jays the freedom to do as they please with Rogers Centre.

DJF: Decipher the Mind of Brett Lawrie with Translawrieate

Or as Dustin Parkes sez about Lawrie…“just in case Toronto Blue Jays fans didn’t already know that if Brett Lawrie played for the Boston Red Sox, they’d hate his guts with an unforeseen fury.”

Blue Jays like Brett Lawrie, who through his @blawrie13 account tweets uninteligible things like:

“Runnin through these H*** like I got that devilish flow rock’n'roll no halo we party rockkkkk #Sorry4PRockin

I don’t know either.

Fortunately for those of us who can’t quite grasp young Brett’s dialect, some genius has come up with the Brett Lawrie Babel Fish—@translawrieate—which deciphers such garbled nonsense into common English. Fed through this handy system this we see the above tweet come out like this:

“I’m not a man of pure actions. My unyielding sexual conquests with women of speculative morals resemble the efficiency of Drano” (1/2)

Apologies for expressing the lyrics of Party Rock Anthem. (2/2)

Blue Jays complete Francisco Cordero signing

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed veteran reliever Francisco Cordero to a $4.5-million, one-year contract.

The 36-year-old right-hander was 5-3 with 37 saves last season for the Cincinnati Reds. He posted a 2.45 earned-run average and held opponents to a .198 batting average.

Dirk Hayhurst to play ball in Italy this year

The Non-Prospect will stay in Europe for another year to work out their fiscal crisis.

Dirk Hayhurst, author of “The Bullpen Gospels” and the upcoming “Out of my League,” is a personal favorite of mine. Yes, because of the books, but also because he lives in Ohio and I got to meet him last fall and I found that he is just as neat a guy in person as he is in print and on Twitter and stuff.

Anyone who has paid attention to his career since his first book came out knows that, after 25 major league games in 2008-09, he was first beset with injury and then, last year, was beset with being part of the Tampa Bay Rays organization which, unfortunately for Hayhurst, had way damn too many good pitchers.

It might be easy to get discouraged if you’re a guy like Hayhurst, but he’s not doing that.  No, rather than get upset at a system that is, by design, almost impossible to crack, he has decided to view his baseball career as an opportunity to experience neat stuff.  He just announced on Twitter that he’ll be playing baseball in Italy in 2012.

JAYS’ BAUTISTA NOT BOTHERED BY AMOUNT OF DRUG TESTS

Hell, I was once a sponsor for a tab-popping, nonpareil arm dotted friend of mine…and I was tired of the constant testing.

Bautista addressed his claim that he’s been tested by the league an above-average amount of times the past couple of years before talking about his team’s chances this upcoming season.

Bautista, who will be featured on the cover of the upcoming MLB 12 The Show, commented at a banquet in the Dominican Republic recently that he had been tested 16 times for performance enhancers over the past two years.

“(16) is an approximate number, and it’s hard to keep tabs,” Bautista said on TSN 1050. “It has increased in the last two years compared to before but I’m not complaining whatsoever. It’s a question that I was asked so I gave an honest answer. It’s not in my interest to make it seem like I’m getting picked on.”

The increase in drug tests is something that Bautista, who has led the league in home runs the past two years, said hasn’t and won’t change the way he goes about preparing and playing the game.

“I don’t mind it; it’s something that is not going to affect my focus and I’m not going to allow it to affect how I play my game,” Bautista said. “They are entitled to do whatever they want and test you as many times as they want. If I get picked to be tested a million times, that’s fine with me.”

RLYW: Too-Early Marcel 2012 Season Forecast

Crikey, such excitement in the NL West!

This is current through Francisco Cordero signing with Toronto, and assumes Prince Fielder at 1B and Miguel Cabrera playing a terrible version of 3B for Detroit in 70% of their games, and DHing in 25% of them.

Kevin Goldstein: Blue Jays Top 11 Prospects

System in 20 Words or Less: Some elite position players and a cadre of young high-ceiling pitchers make Toronto the envy of every team in baseball.

Five-Star Prospects
1. Travis d’Arnaud, C
2. Jake Marisnick, OF
Four-Star Prospects
3. Daniel Norris, LHP
4. Anthony Gose, OF
5. Noah Syndergaard, RHP
Three-Star Prospects
6. Drew Hutchison, RHP
7. Justin Nicolino, LHP
8. Deck McGuire, RHP
9. Adonys Cardona, RHP
10. Kevin Comer, RHP
11. Christopher Hawkins, OF

Nine More:
12. Aaron Sanchez, RHP: He’s still a high-ceiling arm, but he will need more work than was anticipated.
13. Jacob Anderson, OF: This supplemental first-round pick is a long, lean athlete with power potential.
14. Joe Musgrove, RHP: Musgrove, who was taken just 11 picks after Anderson, is a physical beast with plus velocity and an advanced breaking ball.
15. Dwight Smith, OF: The son of the former Cub inherited his father’s hitting ability, but not his speed.
16. A.J. Jimenez, C: This under-the-radar backstop has a line-drive bat and an outstanding arm.
17. Matt Dean, 3B: This over-slot 13th-round pick has a classic third-base profile with power and defensive skills.
18. Asher Wojciechowski, RHP: This 2010 supplemental pick lost velocity under a pro workload.
19. Carlos Perez, C: Perez’s full-season debut disappointed, and his lack of physicality is a concern.
20. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS: Hechavarria is a plus-plus defender. The Jays hope he will hit ninth in the lineup.

Bill James Mailbag - 1/22/12 - 1/25/12

If you had to pick one position player to build a team around who do you pick?
Asked by: Florko
Answered: 1/25/2012

Jacoby?  I dunno; might be Jacoby, Braun, Kemp, Longoria.  Brett Lawrie, maybe.

Hi Bill. In Nick Punto’s career he has walked 303 times and struck out 486. However, in his 63 games for the Cardinals last year he walked 25 times and struck out only 21 times and had a very strong half season. Is 63 games enough of a sample size to assume he may be improving as a hitter, or are his previous 824 games a better indication of what type of hitter he will be next year?
Asked by: izzy24
Answered: 1/25/2012

It is most likely an aberration.  It is most likely that his strikeout/walk ratio will return to historic norms in 2012.

...[Win Shares] as you’ve set them up (3 WS= 1 Win) are MORE meaningful in huge samples (i.e., a player with 200 WS over a career is prefereable to one with only 150) but I still thought that even a single WS in one season means something…
Asked by: sgoldleaf
Answered: 1/23/2012

...When we divide one win into three win shares, rather than ten, then each win share has a worth of approximately three runs, and then the distinctions become more reliable, which is not to say ABSOLUTELY reliable, but more reliable.  We are less likely to be wrong by 3 runs than we are by one run, and we are much less likely to be wrong by 9 runs than we are by 3 runs. 

Still. ..and this is one of those points that a lot of people are just never going to get. . .it is not the main purpose of Win Shares to make distinctions between single seasons.  If you’re arguing about, let us say, who to put on an All-Star team, then there are a thousand things you can look at it pursue that argument.  Saying that “This player has 27 Win Shares and that one has 25”—OR saying that this player has 6.9 WAR and that player has 6.3—is something of an effort to end the debate, in that these measures SUM UP all of the other measurements.  It’s not particularly helpful in that way; it’s not really appropriate to try to end those debates by citing a master statistic that overrules all of the other statistics, and it’s not terribly persuasive.  That’s really not the value in Win Shares.

Bill, the 2011 Colorado Rockies got 217 relief appearances from pitchers named “Matt.” Do you happen to know, off the top of your head, whether this is a record for one team getting the most bullpen games out of one first name?
Asked by: TJNawrocki
Answered: 1/22/2012

I’m pretty sure Jesse Orosco pitched that many times himself for the 1987 Mets.  I can’t believe I put 7 minutes of my life into researching this, but. . .I think it is a record.  The 1967 Twins got 162 game appearances (not all of them relief appearances) out of pitchers named “Jim”—Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Jim Merrit, Jim Roland and Jim Ollom… I don’t find anybody else going over the 200 mark.

Tom, it would have been funny if Bill actually did know that off the top of his head.

Rosenthal: Get Set For Super ‘Pen as Jays Sign Francisco Cordero

Laboy now has company north of the border!

Taking time out from writing about Prince Fielder and money for the umpteenth time this winter to pass you along this news: Kenny Ken Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets that the Jays have themselves a new setup man, ex-Reds closer Francisco Cordero.

The deal is for just one year—no option, apparently—and $4.5-million. It’s the same amount they could have paid Jon Rauch, had they picked up his option, only in Cordero it nets them a pitcher who still throws in the mid-90s (OK, he averaged 93 on his four-seamer in 2011), and… well… actually pre-2011 Rauch had some better things going for him: better ERA over the previous two years, better FIP, better fWAR, better walk rates.

But Cordero can miss more bats, will produce a lot more ground balls, and has a lot more depth behind him—Darren Oliver, Jason Frasor, Casey Janssen—to pick up the slack. And, of course, Sergio Santos, to close out ballgames.

Jays Extend Morrow For 3 Years

Source: Jays, Morrow nearing $20m, three-year extension, with $10m option or $1m buyout. Announcement could come Tuesday.

Jesse Barfield says arm tells all in war for drug-free baseball

Yikes! Greg Luzinski must have been on turanabull from a very young age!

Since Barfield is so familiar with strong arms he thinks it’s a giveaway to which players are on performance enhancing drugs. The giveaway is not when an outfielder suddenly develops a rocket arm. It’s when someone with a rocket arm suddenly can’t throw.

“When you look at guys, you have a pretty good idea of whether they are on something or not. It’s not natural to have muscles growing out of your neck like this,” Barfield said, holding his hands on his neck in a big circle.

Barfield said outfielders using PED’s build up their muscles so much around their shoulders, they can’t throw.

“They can’t get the arm up over the top because of how the muscles are built up,” he said. “It’s not natural. Guys who could throw, suddenly can’t throw.”

Barfield said it was never an issue with the Blue Jays of his era. With Lloyd Moseby and George Bell as his outfield mates, Toronto had one of the finest young outfields in the business.

“As close as we were as a team we would know if anyone was doing anything like that and if they were, we would have . . . stopped it right away.”

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Blasts from the Past

With the Hall of Fame results being announced today, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and dig up some old scouting reports from the Baseball America archives on some of the ballot’s notable candidates. . .

8. Barry Larkin, ss, 21, 5-11, 175, R-R
Larkin looked right at home in AA, hitting .267 for Vermont. He didn’t show power (one home run in 255 at-bats), but that will come. The key for him was just getting his feet on the ground, and he was not overpowered by the high level of competition (21 strikeouts in 255 at-bats). He will have good power for a shortstop.

6. Edgar Martinez, 3b, 25, 5-11, 175, R-R
Martinez’s discipline will produce runs. He’s averaged 70 RBIs the last four years. In the field, he’s solid, with good reactions and the soft hands of a middle infielder.

White Sox trade Jason Frasor to Jays

Reliever Jason Frasor is headed back to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 34-year-old righty was traded from the White Sox to Toronto on Sunday, five months after the Blue Jays dealt him to Chicago.

The White Sox got minor league right-handers Myles Jaye and Daniel Webb in this latest swap….

“It felt like I was never coming back. (His July 27 trade) was an emotional day. I think it was the first time I’d cried since I gave up five runs in Atlanta a couple of years ago,” Frasor said….

Frasor, from Chicago, was 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 64 relief appearances with the White Sox and Toronto last season. Chicago acquired him and pitcher Zach Stewart from the Blue Jays for pitcher Edwin Jackson and infielder-outfielder Mark Teahen in midseason.

Frasor had been the longest serving member of the Blue Jays and left as the franchise leader in games pitched when they traded him. He spent eight seasons—2004-11—with the Blue Jays, posting a 24-28 record in 455 games with 36 saves and a 3.69 ERA.

And who is 119th in franchise history in games pitched - who else? - Octavio Dotel.

Griffin: Jays need to be transparent on Darvish and move on

But that policy sometimes leads to reported Jays participation and in interest being exagerrated and perpetuated, in rumours not being nipped in the bud and continuing to grow. That then encourages media searching out secondary sources, subject to interpretation. There Are even top player agents that will include the Jays as being interested in their client in order to drive up the price, confident that Anthopoulos won’t confirm or deny. It’s always been clear that there are times when the club would benefit from total transparency. Darvish is one of those times.

On Wednesday morning, Anthopoulos had staged a 15-minute conference call with local Toronto media to say nothing. He coyly deflected questions of what had been Jays’ interest in Darvish, of having made any offer at all and of the dollar amount that was reported by national sources said to be runner-up to the Rangers’ reported winning bid of $51.7 million.

He must have known that being recognized as runner-up would generate fan support since he would be perceived to have made a sincere effort. In this case the speculation was helping the team’s off-season image and interest. But, now, with all the denials of the $50 million bid that had been reported in multiple outlets elsewhere before being confirmed here, angles offered about the plucky Jays being competitive for Darvish, the previous fan and media support is turning to frustration and anger at being played. Are the Jays trying to take unwarranted credit for aggressiveness to curry public support?

Thanks to Sh.

Boston Red Sox - Red Sox have more competition than ever - The Boston Globe

This week’s Boston Globe Sunday baseball column.

NY Post: Blue Jays believed to outbid Yankees, others for Darvish

Having made a posting bid above $40 million and possibly close to $50 million, the Blue Jays are the favorites to land the negotiating rights to Yu Darvish.

Yahoo Sports: Passan: Darvish bidding process is a cloak and dagger affair

The deadline for bids on Darvish is today at 5 pm (eastern time).  Passan makes the whole process sound like executives have spent several years in Australia bulding up an immunity to iocane powder just for this moment.

The Texas Rangers, for example, have told rivals they’re cash-poor this offseason. A TV deal that will net them $80 million annually doesn’t kick in until 2015. The purchase price of the team for the ownership group – jacked up in an auction by Mark Cuban – wound up tens of millions of dollars higher than expected and sucked up the $90 million signing bonus Fox Sports delivered. And the TV contract itself wasn’t nearly as lucrative as Chuck Greenberg, the club’s deposed CEO, purported it to be.

To which one GM said: “Yeah, right.”

And another executive said: “They’re sandbagging.”

Phillies Trade Francisco to Blue Jays for Local Product

The ‘Cisco Kid was a friend of mine.

Outfielder Ben Francisco was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for left-hander Frank Gailey, the Phillies announced today.

Gailey, a 26-year-old native of Philadelphia, split last season between single-A Dunedin and double-A New Hampshire in the Blue Jays’ minor league system where he combined to go 5-6 with a 3.41 ERA in 45 relief appearances.  For his minor league career he has gone 23-15 with a 2.45 ERA in 175 games (one start).  Gailey, Toronto’s 23rd round selection in the June 2007 draft, attended Archbishop Carroll High School and West Chester University.

Interpreting Scott Boras’ Comments On Prince Fielder: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

The big concern for anyone signing Prince is that he will age like his father.

There has been some talk of Boras trying to get Fielder signed to a three or four year contract, so that Prince gets another bite at the free agency apple. That strategy, I would think, would work best for teams and Prince’s long-term earnings. Of course, who knows what silly offer could already be on the table? I am just glad the Red Sox already have Adrian Gonzalez.

White Sox trade Sergio Santos for Blue Jays prospect Molina

Sergio: Once Upon a Time in the East…Duck, You Sucker!

The Chicago White Sox sent closer Sergio Santos to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitching prospect Nestor Molina in a trade of right-handed pitchers Tuesday.

Santos, 28, saved 30 games in 63 appearances in his first full season in the majors in 2011.

Molina, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, was 12-3, pitching at Class A Dunedin (Fla.) and Class AA New Hampshire for the Jays last season. For his minor-league career he is 22-7 with a 2.21 ERA.

Santos was originally drafted as a shortstop by the Diamondbacks with the 27th overall pick in 2002.

Hardball Talk: UPDATE: Angels trade Jeff Mathis to Blue Jays for Brad Mills

UPDATE: Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times confirms that the deal is done.

12:10 PM: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Angels are on the verge of trading catcher Jeff Mathis to the Blue Jays for left-hander Brad Mills.

The Angels acquired Chris Iannetta from the Rockies earlier this week, which made Mathis a virtual lock to be non-tendered. The 28-year-old backstop stands to make close to $2 million in his second year of arbitration, so it’s a wonder why the Blue Jays didn’t just wait to see if he hit the free agent market. I could be wrong here, but I can’t imagine teams were falling over themselves for a .194 career hitter whose defensive contributions can be overstated at times.

The Angels just traded their Tim Tebow and replaced him with Kyle Orton!

Sickels:  Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Prospects for 2012

What can you say? This system has incredible depth, and a year from now it could look even better, depending on how Nicolino, Norris, and Syndergaard perform in full-season ball, not to mention hitters like Smith and Dean who are just getting started. Sanchez and Woj have the natural ability to zoom up the list as well.

Many of the C+ guys (and even some of the Cs) have B or even A-level physical ceilings but need to play and get some experience in, particularly pitchers like Carmona and Osuna.

Overall, I think this list speaks for itself. There is upside with guys who could be stars, there are solid future role players, there are arms, there are bats, there is power, there is speed, there is defense. It will be interesting to see if the Blue Jays are able to keep the talent spigot on full blast under the new CBA

Jays target Heath Bell

But not Yu:

Insiders say Jays president Paul Beeston is not a fan of the current posting system in place which sees teams pay anywhere from $50-to-$100 million to the Nippon Ham Fighters for just the right to negotiate with right-hander Yu Darvish.

Cleveland Indians trade Luis Valbuena to Toronto for cash

Luis Valbuena, one of the many players who have tried to fill the hole at second base since the Indians traded Brandon Phillips, was traded to Toronto for cash Saturday.

Valbuena was designated for assignment by the Indians on Nov. 18 as they set the 40-man roster in preparation for the Rule 5 draft. He’ll turn 26 Sunday.

The Indians acquired Valbuena and Joe Smith in a three-team trade with Seattle and the Mets at the winter meetings in 2008. Valbuena, acquired from Seattle, caught the eye of former Tribe manager Eric Wedge in 2009 as he hit .250 (92-for-368) with 25 doubles, three triples, 10 homers and 31 RBI in 103 games.

It was downhill from there.

Thanks to RD.

Blue Jays wanted Buchholz for John Farrell

CLAY?!...I’d alert Sons of Anarchy before Sons of Sam Horn!

According to a tweet from David Waldstein from the New York Times, the Blue Jays asked for Clay Buchholz as compensation if the Red Sox were going to hire away John Farrell to become their manager. FoxSports.com originally reported that the Red Sox had identified Farrell as a potential candidate for their managerial opening, but, as Ken Rosenthal wrote, “never considered it likely the Jays would engage in serious discussions about Farrell, and the conversations failed to progress.”

The Red Sox are still currently considering three candidates—Bobby Valentine, Gene Lamont and Torey Lovullo—for their open manager job.

MLB: Blue Jays unveil new logo for 2012 season

No snark. These are just plain great. May those black and grey atrocities never again darken our doors.

The Blue Jays dipped into their past when looking for inspiration for the club’s new logo that was revealed at Rogers Centre on Friday afternoon.

The new look is a modernized version of the franchise’s first logo that was used from 1977-97. It features a sleeker-looking Blue Jay bird head with a prominent red maple leaf to showcase Toronto’s standing as the only Major League Baseball team in Canada.

The design also marks the return of “Blue” in Blue Jays for the first time in almost 10 years and will be reflected on two of the three uniforms.

Griffin: Blue Jays’ chances of making playoffs just improved by 10 per cent

We are the 10%!

But for current GM Alex Anthopoulos and Rogers ownership the bar has been raised. The rebuilding is over. The new target is high 80s in wins in order to compete.

...But what this has done is amp up the adrenaline level in all middle of the pack major-league cities and their fan bases. It has raised the bar for all GMs, so that if you finished around .500 and have some young prospects coming up that could just as easily develop at the major-league level as you tell your fans you are rebuilding with youth, you had now better think twice about throwing in the towel and trading your veterans to save money. It’s good for the game, good for September.

But for Anthopoulos, his job has just got a little bit more difficult and his moves will be under a little bit more scrutiny at the winter meetings and beyond. He was always planning on winning in 2012, but he didn’t have to announce it until spring training. Now the pressure is on the Jays.

The best thing is that at long last there can be no excuses about the AL East being the reason for no playoffs and the best Ontario whine can return to the Niagara region where it belongs.

Griffin: Jays’ J.P. Arencibia surprisingly blanked in AL rookie voting

However, after that there was certainly room for the steady Arencibia on someone’s ballot as a third-place vote. Catching is the toughest position on the field and Arencibia, in addition to racking up 23 homers and 78 RBIs, both second among AL rookies, had to worry about handling the complicated, physical demands of the position. No other rookie candidate had to worry about leading a staff through nine innings and controlling the running game while trying to correct flawed footwork behind the plate and bad habits when it comes to blocking balls. He progressed on all fronts.

...Certainly nobody was expecting Arencibia to actually win the award, so that’s not the issue. He has a weakness catching balls from the top of his left knee to his left ankle and he batted just .219, but the fact that M’s second baseman Dustin Ackley, promoted to the majors on June 17, received a first- and a third-place nod and Rays outfielder Desmond Jennings secured a third-place recognition despite a mere 247 at-bats and not playing his first ML game until July 23 is a joke.

Thanks to Chet.

NYTimes: Yu Darvish Situation Puts Spotlight on Japanese Player Posting System

Japanese teams post a player through their commissioner’s office, which notifies its American counterpart to make an announcement to all 30 clubs. Interested teams have four days to submit a secret bid, known as the posting fee. If the highest bid is accepted, the team making it has 30 days to negotiate exclusively with the player. If no deal is reached, the posting fee is returned to the major league club and the player’s rights revert to his Japanese club.

The posting system was created to address player transfers in December 1998, mostly as a response to the messy process that ultimately landed pitcher Hideki Irabu with the Yankees. ...

The first player to change leagues through the new system was another Dominican, pitcher Alejandro Quezada, also of the Carp. Before the 1999 season, he made history when the Cincinnati Reds won the first posting with a bid of $400,000 for his negotiating rights. Quezada, who later changed his name to Diaz, pitched in the Reds’ minor league system through 2003, but never appeared in a major league game.

Nearly two years later, the heralded outfielder Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player to use the system. His Orix club reaped a $13.1 million posting fee from the Seattle Mariners after he signed a three-year, $14 million contract.

Over all, 11 players - nine Japanese and two Dominicans - have signed with major league teams through the posting system. Six postings failed to produce a player transfer, the first five because no teams bid.