Of course, it could have all been avoided had the Jays allowed Richmond to pitch for Canada and recalled him when needed next month.

Besides the thrill of it all, Canada would have had a better product.

Is it the duty of the Jays to put their best team on the field, or their best team on someone else's field?

Plus, Canada has a pretty good run differential... their R-RA is 14-0 in their two wins, and 15-20 in their five losses.

Yup, Richmond would've thrown 2 shutouts and magically carried the Canadian team to the gold. That seems to be the Toronto sportswriters opinion at least.

In the real world Canada finished tied for 5th with a 2-5 record. If Richmond pitched against either Cuba or the USA (the only games better pitching would've made a big difference in) then Canada would've been 3-4 or maybe even 4-3 if he won the game vs Taiwan as well. What difference would that have made? Best case (beating both the USA and Taiwan or Cuba and Taiwan as Richmond couldn't have pitching in both the USA and Cuba games) puts Canada in a tie with Japan or with Japan and the USA.

In a tie, as I understand it, runs for/against decide it. Thus Canada at +9 plus at least 4 more gets to +13. Japan was at +16 so Richmond would've had to save at least 7 runs for that to work. Thus Richmond would've had to pitch and win vs the USA and Taiwan as beating Cuba would not have done the trick (again, unless he threw a shut out vs them). The USA finished +18, if Canada beat them they'd have been +16 or less. So 3 more runs than the minimum are needed either way. Thus holding Cuba to 2 runs total rather than 7 or holding the USA to 0 runs, or holding Taiwan to 1 run would've been required. Or some combination (Taiwan to 0 and Cuba to 3 for example).

For Richmond to have been the difference requires a lot out of Richmond (he who would be Cy Young the second) or some amazing team effect from having a guy with 0 wins above AA there. However, we are talking about Toronto baseball 'writers' - and a HOF nominated one at that - so what do you expect?

Exactly, Ryan.

Nobody seems to be asking Richmond whether the Thrill of the Olympics is better than the Thrill of the Major Leagues (with paycheck attached).

Here you have a 28 year old journeyman who was having a good year in Triple A and who got his shot because Jesse Litsch got sent down and the team wasn't happy with John Parrish. Richmond wasn't on the 40 man roster and the team had to amke a roster move to make room (moving Aaron Hill to the 60 day DL). If they call up some other guy so Richmond can go to the Olympics to make Bob Elliott happy, there is no guarantee that he gets called up in September from off the 40-man. The chance to get to the majors may never come again for him.

However, I have to say that JP handled this with his typical lack of pr-savvy.

Oh, least I forget, odds are Richmond would not have received a September call-up as he is a starter and the rotation is now full with Halladay/Burnett/Marcum/Litsch/Purcey and Cito is fairly committed to those guys now. Thus Richmond's only hope for ML service time would've been if someone was hurt between now and October. But hey, at least he could've been the difference and become an Olympic hero...or not.

Exactly, Ryan.

Actually, I wasn't stating it as a fact - it was an honest question. You see, I was honestly curious as to the balance between the Jays using a different (and possibly inferior) starter on those days, and the impact on the Jays' revenue stream through a reduction in wins, and the Jays using Richmond as a starter on those days, and the impact on the Jays' revenue stream through the negative PR by hurting the Canadian Olympic team.

Of course, I also thought that Richmond was some 24 year old prospect, rather than a 28 year old retread. If he was the former, I could see the Olympics being more important. As the latter, I can see it being a lot more important for him financially to play in the majors.

As a Canadian, I was sure cheering on such greats as Stubby Clapp, and uh.... that other guy, and the one who is 34 and never been past AA.

Richmond was a 28 year old who spent the past years of his career playing in the Northern League, the minors of the minors. Getting to collect a major league paycheck, start a few games in front of 40,000 of your fans for the nation's team and make a strong statement to at least play a long-man role on the team next year seems to be a lot better than pitching in the Olympics with a bunch of has-beens and never-weres in a sport that's about to get the axe, and that few to no Canadians take any sort of interest in. Case closed.

"Getting to collect a major league paycheck, start a few games in front of 40,000 of your fans for the nation's team and make a strong statement to at least play a long-man role on the team next year seems to be a lot better than pitching in the Olympics with a bunch of has-beens and never-weres in a sport that's about to get the axe, and that few to no Canadians take any sort of interest in. Case closed."

Maybe, maybe not. I've corresponded with some members of minor-league lifer Brett Roneberg's family, and they're all proud as #### of his silver medal. As they should be.

The Northern League may be the minors of the minors, but it's the majors of the minors of the minors.

Now the Frontier League, that's really minor.

Is it the duty of the Jays to put their best team on the field, or their best team on someone else's field?

The writer's point seems to be that although it marginally helps the Jays to have Brian Richmond available, it'll hurt them among their intended audience (Canadians) if they're publicly seen as making the Canadian Olympic team significantly worse in order to win 0.1 extra games. I really don't think Canadians care, though.

Exactly Crispix, the Jays FO have a hard enough time getting Canadians to care about the only national major league team, despite its uniqueness, its winning history and a very aggressive nationwide marketing push. Turn on any Canadian sports highlight show and see how important baseball is - even in August, on the station owned by the Jays owner, off-season hockey still leads off the show.

Olympic baseball is but a passing thought every four years by all but the most fanatic of fans and die-hard patriots.

I'm Canadian. I'm a marginal Jays fan. I don't care about Olympic baseball besides the participation of local boy and Dorchester native Chris Robinson-C.

On another note, he referenced Trailer Park Boys. Hilarious show.

Team Canada had RJ Swindle. What more do you want?

Rheal Cormier and Tim Burton, of course. But the team lost 5 straight 1 run games (didn't look very threatening though, a team full of free swinging lefties).

I heard Richmond's father interviewed on the radio, and he was all for the call-up. Scott was working in a shipyard ion Vancouver as a dock worker for a few years before getting back into baseball about three years ago, and his old man has basically been paying his way since. If you're 28 and have a chance to play in the big leagues for the first and maybe only time, you're going to take it.

Canada has a baseball team?

I think Richmond earned about 50,000 from his call up.

"As a Canadian, I was sure cheering on such greats as Stubby Clapp, and uh.... that other guy, and the one who is 34 and never been past AA."

Well, you won't have Stubby Clapp to kick around anymore.

I'm sure Richmond would have enjoyed and cherished his Olympic experience, had he gone. I'm also sure that he would have liked to be able to go to the Olympics *and* pitch in the majors, if it had worked out that way. And who knows--if he had gone, maybe Canada's team would have done better. (Or worse!)

But what I really want to say is this:

Bob Elliott can roll his article into a cone and sit on it.

Blue Jays just acquired Jose Bautista (the Pirates' starting third baseman for most of the last two years) for a PTBNL.

The final piece! (source)

From the Pirates' opening-day lineup last year, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Jose Castillo, and Jose Bautista are now gone; Ronny Paulino and Chris Duffy were demoted long ago and will probably be on another team the next time they're in the majors; and Adam LaRoche, Jack Wilson, and Zach Duke are still around.

Duke's probably not too long for the rotation, though.