The Vernon Wells Trade

2011-10-03T09:47:00.001-04:00

So Hollywood ruined Moneyball...

2011-10-02T09:14:00.002-04:00

I finally got around to seeing Moneyball last night and can't say that I loved or hated it. For anyone who hasn't seen it, stop reading now, but know that if you go and enjoy the movie as a Hollywood fulff piece, you should like it...if you're a hardcore fan of the book, fan of sabrmetrics or want to see lots of baseball scenes...forget it.Why didn't I like it? Because the movie essentially

The Rocket trade

2008-01-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

Roger Clemens is traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the New York Yankees for Homer Bush, Graeme Lloyd, and David Wells.He broke Jays fans’ hearts…and then did it again to all of his fans (Mitchell Report). After two fantastic Cy Young season with the Jays, the Rocket utilized a clause in his 4 year contract that allowed him to demand a trade. Although he later withdrew the demand, Gord Ash

Batista, Frascatore for Plesac trade

2007-12-23T23:19:00.001-05:00

June 12, 1999: Tony Batista is traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks with John Frascatore to the Toronto Blue Jays for Dan Plesac. I don’t know why this is one of my favorite Jays trades, others come to mind (the Carter and Alomar trade) that were more important in the history of this team. But at the time, I was growing into a more passionate and more intelligent baseball fan (

Stark weighs in, Eckstein signing

2007-12-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

Short update before the holidays, if I have any spare time, I'm going to work on correcting the articles and maybe some new articles...whatever the mood strikes me to do.ESPN.com's Jayson Stark weighs in on the American League, asking J.P. Ricciardi and two other general managers (including one of my personal favs, Mark Shapiro) about what they do to attempt to vault the powers in the AL.

Ricciardi Project Follow-Up

2007-12-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

The Ricciardi Project was meant to be an objective statistical overview of the trades made by Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi in his first five seasons in that position.Of the 27 trades analyzed in the document, 11 players from 7 of the trades them spent time in the Majors with the Jays or the team they were traded to by Ricciardi in 2007.Chad Gaudin : Gaudin became a dependable, if not

Trades! The week's big trades (Haren, Valverde, Tejada)...

2007-12-15T09:44:00.001-05:00

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that this is one my favorite times of the year because of all the moves being made by different teams. An early Christmas for some teams this week as trades are being made and star players are being gift wrapped for their new General Managers. Let's run it down:Billy Beane's hard on for prospects continued as he took the decision to trade arguably his top

A trade revisited...

2007-12-12T22:36:00.000-05:00

A year ago today, the Rockies traded starting pitcher Jason Jennings along with Miguel Ascensio for outfielder Willy Taveras and two prospect pitchers Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz. At the time, your truly called Jason Jennings "quite possibly one of the best starters on the trade market", let's see what transpired in the first year after the trade.The Rockies ended up going on an unbelievable

Mid-Season!

2007-07-09T11:41:00.000-04:00

Well I debated this weekend about whether I should make the drive down to Toronto for the games or go to a cottage...the races made me decide to skip Toronto and instead I spent two days in the rain without access to watching what I knew would be a great series. This Jays team made a statement throughout the weekend of what they have in them and the run to the playoffs that is not yet impossible

NHL Free Agency

2007-07-04T22:46:00.000-04:00

As previously stated, the past four days have been madness in Canada as everyone is following the big moves being made during the first few days of NHL free agency. The money being spent is stupid...and the terms being given are franchise killers. That being said, I've written a short article looking at the teams that have gone and shopped the much in the early going. It can be accessed here.

Jays beat themselves

2007-07-04T13:33:00.000-04:00

Well, not a good effort by the Blue Jays last night, as they failed their young starter with defensive mishaps and unearned runs. The fun started with the bench not warning Zaun that Stewart was swiping second, and allowing a steal that should have just not been counted as a steal (of course I don't mind since I have him on my fantasy team). Zaun then threw the ball into CF to allow Stewart to

The weekend that was

2007-07-03T12:15:00.000-04:00

Canada Day and NHL Free Agent talk took over the weekend in the Ottawa area. Leaf fans are surprised their hapless GM was able to acquire a winger to help Sundin after picking up a goalie, Habs fans are pissed that their GM threw money around but none of it would stick to any free agents until Monday and Sens fans are anxiously awaiting something, anything.In the end, two of those three teams

Most dysfunctional clubhouse: The Padres!

2007-06-29T02:00:00.001-04:00

Reports are coming out that San Diego has acquired Milton Bradley. Bradley is extremely talented but known to be emotional and sometimes troublesome and was designated for assignment by the Athletics for unknown reasons although it was said to create room for players such as Travis Buck. Milton "The game" has had 5 consecutive season of an OPS+ over 100, he's not quite a home run threat and

June 28th Live Blog During The Game

2007-06-28T13:38:00.001-04:00

End of first inning: Is anything more maddening than AJ Burnett?Single-Hit By Pitch-Ks one of the best young hitters in the game on three pitches-rbi single-Ks last year's MVP on four pitches-Enduces Ground Out.He doesn't even look dominant for full games anymore, just against a couple batters an inning. Glad he got out of that jam without giving back more than one run though.And congratulations

And they're a game over .500

2007-06-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, I could not catch the game last night but I did get a chance to watch it in about half an hour this morning. The team is a game above five hundred and actually has a 4 game winning streak! Marcum goes tonight against Scott Baker, who is fighting for his job in the rotation.Wells really seems to be getting comfortable in the lead off spot, he'll get less RBI opps but he's bringing

From Goat to Hero?

2007-06-25T23:54:00.000-04:00

Frank Thomas had a fabulous weekend and it showed when looking at VORP, his Value went up 3.6 from Friday morning to Monday morning. One away from 500, let's see if he can get that and get on a roll, came close tonight against MinnesotaBiggest VORP gain this weekend? Matt Stairs jumped 7.2 to go up to 15.7 value. Is anyone (non-arbitration) a better bargain in MLB than this guy? If so, I'd

Why the Jays aren't in first...the offensive part

2007-06-21T18:28:00.001-04:00

Welcome back...after a busy NHL playoff season working sales for a Stanley Cup finalist followed by relaxing over at Lynx Stadium and actually catching Jays, and so many other teams', games on TV. Great game to catch on Sunday, I actually turned to my friend during the 2nd or 3rd inning and stated "McGowan looks filthy today"...good call...too bad my opponent in the pool had him.So as of

Big update SOON!

2007-06-20T15:11:00.000-04:00

BVTN is coming back...big update coming up, you'll notice the stats are already updated!

The New Style of the Draft

2007-06-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

Major League Baseball took a huge step in the growth of the popularity of the draft and in the exposure to top prospects. The first ever televised draft was a big deal for MLB and it should lead to positive growth for baseball as a whole. The lead-up to the draft had more mock drafts than I have ever seen available on the internet, and the draft itself provided a good look into the different

Draft Day One

2007-06-07T21:57:00.000-04:00

Day one of the MLB draft is complete and the Blue Jays organization added 10 new players in the first five rounds. The players were varied in both positional and their level of experience. Here's the top 5 picks from the first round and supplemental:16th pick: High School Shortstop Kevin Ahrens: 6'2, 180 pound Texan switch hitter who played shortstop while in high school but will probably end up

Heartbreak...and movin on

2007-06-07T08:53:00.000-04:00

Well...after two long months of working 12 hour days and having your emotions fully invested into something, I shall have some spare time to get back to working on this great site after last night's dissapointing loss. We will be back on board A.S.A.P. and with a lot of content so stay tuned! A great day to be back on board also as the draft is on at 2pm, stay tuned...lots of different names

Phewwwwwww.....wait....darn!

2007-04-16T19:22:00.000-04:00

Well first the Good news...stud closer B.J. Ryan will only miss 4-6 weeks with an elbow strain, much better than the worse case scenario. Then the bad news...Troy Glaus is going on the D.L. Tuesday with his heel problem. This puts a severe hole in the Jays lineup and will mean Lind/Hill batting second a lot and Overbay staying at the fifth spot. Ryan Roberts gets the call up from Syracuse and

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries

2007-04-16T12:09:00.001-04:00

So I didn't want to post when I hadn't had a chance to watch a full game except Friday night...things are a little crazy as the Senators make their way through the playoffs. But what a horrible week it was for the Jays aside from the standings where they are currently tied for first...Closer B.J. Ryan is gone...and we should find out today for how long. The bullpen had been great early on this

McGowan Watch '07

2007-04-11T15:16:00.000-04:00

Dusty had his second start of the season with Syracuse and impressed again last night. He allowed his first ER of the season with a home run by Ryan Sweeney (2 spots behind Travis Snyder on the Baseball America Top Prospects list at 55). In ten innings this year, McGowan has struck out 17 batters and walked only 3. With Towers so-so performance, as previously discussed with no help from the

April 10th, 2007...questioning the manager

2007-04-10T23:46:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you don’t even have to look deeper into the boxscore. You just look at who is listed in the boxscore and it makes you realize all you need to know about the game. Matt Stairs in left field is something meant to make you cringe, certainly with the knowledge that the starting pitcher needs all the confidence he can get after a horrible season last year. Having Jason Smith at SS and

Inside the Box Score - April 9th 2007

2007-04-09T23:00:00.000-04:00

What a long...long game it was tonight. First thing to look at on that boxscore is the time of play: 3 hours and 8 minutes, although it seemed much longer at times. As I write this, Orlando Hudson just caused his team a run with his 'great defense' as we sometimes saw with the Blue Jays, check the box score for a sacrifice fly to the hitter by Cody Ross. Hudson backed up to right field to make

Inside the Boxscore 04/02

2007-04-04T10:20:00.000-04:00

This is a new thing that I've always wanted to do because sometimes, a boxscore can tell a great story...hopefully this will become a recurring thing. But first of all, check out the official boxscore on MLB.COM.-Reed Johnson had an 0 for 4 day at the plate but he did draw 20 pitches and walked once. He stole second after this walk and scored. Even with his speed, last season he only had 8

Still kicking...

2007-04-02T23:29:00.000-04:00

Well I'm back...not better than ever, actually much different than I was. I want to apologize to all the readers for being gone, I was literally spending almost every waking minute working and then when I got some time off, I had some big family issues that are still on-going. But I want to keep this site going, I will figure out how, but first I'll need some help. So if there's anyone out

TNT: Thursday Night

2007-02-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

Apparently, money won't be an issue if the Jays want to make a run at it. This is fantastic news for Jays fans but when did this all come about, where is this money coming from? They must be selling a lot of season tickets in Toronto. I don't mind, at all, but I hope it's not a two year run at it and then ten years of mediocrity. It's an incredibly difficult division but at some point, this

Updated update

2007-02-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

Wanted to add to this post a little bit. Not much going on in baseball land, one week away from pitchers and catchers reporting.First of all, if you haven't read Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, go read it, seriously it's $15 for the paperback... Second of all, here's a great article using a concept from the book. Analyzing the best lineups constructed by stats, intuition and

Pecota, ZiPs and the Jays...

2007-02-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

So Pecota is out for the Jays…and the hitters are an interesting bunch…There’s some variance from the ZiPs numbers but some are very close such as Wells (.845 OPS to .846 OPS) and Clayton (.666 to .663). After struggling with Blogger and their stupidity when trying to insert HTML code with tables, I finally just posted everything HERE.I'll do the pitchers tonight most probably, and then there are

Saturday morning update

2007-02-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

I'm working on the update...Blogger could not suck more for tables, even when I write them out in HTML, they never work in here...First of all, Mr. Gammons comes back with an article about starters and their importance. It's INSider so I'll sum up the parts affecting the Jays...But while much of the baseball universe sees the AL East only in terms of that American phenomenon known as the Yankees

Back...Zambrano?

2007-02-02T08:56:00.000-05:00

Alright, the first post of what should be a bunch hopefully. I'm hoping to do something real nice with a post tomorrow because I'll be in the office for about 8 hours with two games being played at ScotiaBank Place. If anyone is in the Ottawa region, head to the Civic Centre tonight to honour a legend, when Brian Kilrea coaches his 2000th game. I'll be there for the ceremonies before I go

Rising from the ashes

2007-02-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

I hate doing these posts that don't say too much but I'm just updating everyone. I've had a really weird last week that pretty much ended with a hospital stay yesterday. I apologize for the lack of updates but I will get back on the horse with talk about Pecota, Zambrano and more..again my apologies for the lack of updates, I hope it doesn't happen again.

Thursday: my status, Ohka, Further updates

2007-01-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, well sorry for the lack of updates, I fell sick the last couple days and it just added to everything else going on that has made me extremely busy. I have a short news update for now and later on I'll finally take a look at the PECOTA numbers and possibly the GM rankings.Olney has a quote on the Ohka signing from one "Toronto decision maker":"We're just hoping he's healthy enough so

Ohka, Ohka, Ohka, OHKA, Ohhka!

2007-01-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

It looks like the Jays will add Tomo Ohka to their candidates for the starter's job. Ohka, a 29 year old Japanese pitcher, is ocming off an injury riddled season. Allegedly, his agent states that Tomo took less money to play for Toronto, win and prove he was healthy. His contract is for $1.5 million and another $1.5 million in incentives. Interestingly, even if the Jays have 11 startets for

Tuesday lunch...Pirates, Rays Payroll, Soriano

2007-01-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

Quick update...A lot of stuff going on with the life so I'll have a better update later tonight or tomorrow...Trying to figure out the Pirates lineup With a lack of hitters, would it be better to put them all at the top?Rays payroll at $24 million: What a division, what are they $60 million away from the nearest payroll in the AL East? If they finish anything but last it would be incredible...

Monday: Jays middle infield, Ohka, Soriano, Utley,

2007-01-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today we look at the Jays continually changing middle infield, a rumoured pitcher for the Jays, a former slugging second baseman becoming a centre fielder and possibly the best hitting second baseman getting an extension and Bud Selig's replacement...Not sure how much baseball matters today after that incredible football game last night, good for Manning and the Colts to finally make that Super

Lunchtime update

2007-01-19T12:06:00.000-05:00

May as well make an update...there's a couple things going on this morning:Trot Nixon is officially no longer a Red Sox player. He has signed with the Indians for one year, $3 million. They don't come much more consistent than Trot, usually an above average hitter every season, one small injury a season, good right field defense. I'm not sure where he plays because that Indians outfield seemed

Finally Friday

2007-01-18T23:38:00.000-05:00

Well I've been incredi-busy at my new job...for those who don't know, I sell ticket packages and advertising at the Ottawa Senators now. Let me know if you want access to this year's playoffs.Not much going on in the world, so enjoy quick news:Craig Wilson signed a 1 year, $2million deal with the Braves. So essentially, Schurholz traded Laroche for Gonzalez, Wilson and a prospect. Smart GMs

FINALLY! Gonzalez for Laroche! And more...

2007-01-17T08:48:00.001-05:00

The much rumoured, denied, speculated trade of closer Mike Gonzalez + a piece for Adam Laroche seems to finally have happened! As of yet, the piece going to Atlanta with Gonzalez has not been identified, and both teams are not confirming it as of yet. The Braves now have Bob Wickman, trade pick-up Rafael Soriano and Gonzalez in a re-built bullpen after leading the league last year with 29 blown

The hump: Overbay's new number, Neyer, and more

2007-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

Apparently, changing his number to 17 was a priority to him re-signing. He will wear it to honour Grace and Todd Helton. And the Wells signing helped him make the decision.Continuing with Jays news: Arbitration figures were exchanged and it's not too bad. Vernon Wells may need to start wearing a V in front of his name on his jersey. Wouldn't be bad for the Jays to take a flyer on Boomer,

Slow Tuesday...let's do some reading.

2007-01-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

Nothing much going on...let's just do some reading today...Apparently, the Blue Jays offered Ryan Franklin more money than the Cardinals did but he chose them. The Jays probably moved fast to pick up Thomson after that news.Hardball Times examines whether Clemens' late arrival in Houston cost them a playoff spot.The Rangers have worked out Sammy Sosa...you know you're desperate when...It's

Weekend review

2007-01-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

The biggest news of the weekend for the Jays is the Overbay signing. Something I didn't mention yesterday but in 2010, 4 major contracts would come off the Jays' books: Roy Halladay, B.J. Ryan, Lyle Overbay and A.J. Burnett. Along with this, it could be J.P.'s last year because his contract expires that season. So with or without a new GM, the Jays could rebuild and receive 8 possible 1st

Weekend: Overbay extended

2007-01-14T11:58:00.000-05:00

The Jays have apparently signed Lyle Overbay to a 4 year extension worth $24 million. As always there is a good chunk in a signing bonus and he will make $7 million in each of his final two seasons, which were his first two free agent seasons. It seems like a relatively good deal to lock up yet another player, especially considering that Hillenbrand will make $6.5 million next season, and he

Projecting the 2007 Blue Jays

2007-01-11T23:06:00.000-05:00

The Zips projection for the 2007 Blue Jays came out and they look good! Some thoughts:Let's start with the offense...Frank Thomas is listed as projecting the best OPS(.892) but having only 314 ABs...There are four starters who are above average at their positions:ThomasOverbay who is projected as having the best AVG and OBP on the teamWells who vastly outperforms the Average CF (.845 OPS to .774

Three Days of Thomson: On Day 3, he bashed New York Players

2007-01-11T00:40:00.000-05:00

Goodbye Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly...hello John Thomson. Apparently, Thomson isn't quite enamored with the New York Mets, who were the other team bidding for his services.About Paul LoDuca:"As far as just looking at Paul Lo Duca across the field, I'm not really into how he acts behind the plate,"But before we judge Thomson's comments, let's take a look at the new Rosenthal column:"Blue Jays

John Thomson...not Thompson

2007-01-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

Thank Bob Elliott for today's title. Well if you didn't read the last post, John Thomson is a Blue Jay with a low risk signing of $500,000 plus incentives that could reach $4 million based on starts. Along with providing us with today's title, Bob Elliott also provided us with this:Speier, who signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels, phoned Jays manager John Gibbons this week to

Jays sign a starter...John Thomson

2007-01-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

Ricciardi has finally brought a starter into the mix...former Atlanta Brave John Thomson. He agreed to an incentive-laden contract with a $500,000 salary on Tuesday. Ricciardi explains his rationale: "This is the kind of veteran guy we’re trying to bring in here to give us some innings,"The veteran only threw 80 innings last season because of a couple injuries but he didn't throw too badly with

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

2007-01-09T00:03:00.000-05:00

Did anyone expect that Florida blowout? Me neither!! Well the Big Unit deal is official...and Jays fans want Ricciardi need a pitcher.The Jays will play in the Hall of Fame game against Baltimore replacing the MetsBaseball Analysts has a good article analyzing pitchers hereAnd there's good news for Jays fans:(A.J. Burnett) is one of the premier pitchers in baseball when healthy.And looking at

Quick look at the news...

2007-01-08T11:06:00.000-05:00

Not much going on today...Jamie Campbell checks in and talks about the bust that was the New York Big Unit. He also mentions the Yanks loading up for a run at Santana!MLB.Com writers reveal their HHOF votes...MLB.Com writers have way too many votes..what's next, bloggers will get votes too?Mike Rutsey talks about the Jays pitching deficiencyRicciardi knows what the Jays lack: "The thing is we

What If?!? Josh Towers

2007-01-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

I have been quite critical of the Jays for not getting a starter this off-season. I understand that the price, through free agency or trades, is much too high. You look at the examples with the contracts given to Eaton, Meche and Lilly and the trades of Johnson and Jennings. But, looking at the roster it seems that, unfortunately, the team has taken a step backwards. If Josh Towers is the 5th

First Weekend update

2007-01-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a longer update, but there's a lot going on that needs to be shared with the Nation.Ricciardi claims that he has exhausted all avenues to try to pick up a starting pitcher..although it is left open that they may negotiate with Armas later onI guess when the GM is hoping for a .500 season I should completely ignore my gut and just look at the stats...And then the most scary thing

Lots of Jays news for a January Friday

2007-01-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

The Big Unit deal is not yet official, so I will not yet report it :). When it does happen, you can expect a trade review here. However, lots of lil tidbits to pass along...The official Jays site has an off-season recap...it ranks the off-season as a 5(out of 10) for J.P. and says that *GASP* the pitching staff still needs to be addressed. No kidding...certainly when their best guess at the

AL East: Signings, Trades...oh my

2007-01-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

The AL East keeps busy as the Red Sox signed a pitcher, the Yankees signed another and have almost completed the Big Unit trade.The Red Sox signed Joel Pineiro to a one year, $4 million deal. They fully intend to have him compete for the closer's job. It seems the Sox are trying to find a bargain at closer now that Papelbon is back in the rotation.The Yankees are apparently close to completing

It continues...looking at the Jays off-season

2007-01-03T00:27:00.000-05:00

Ok the Baltimore/Toronto is raging. Just to re-iterate...I have a bad feeling in my gut that the Orioles are in a better position than the Jays to compete. It does not mean that I refute the statistical evidence, it just means that it's a feeling. Obviously I don't feel comfortable with the Jays roster today...so let's look at it. Jays have lost (this off-season): Bengie

Baltimore vs. Toronto Part 2

2007-01-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Well before we get to a bit of a statistical analysis, there's some required readingDayn Perry weighs in on the Mets off-season and says that it helps Minaya's repKevin Kennedy uses the Cardinals as a model for General ManagersSlezak compares Ken Williams to Billy Beane...and uses the Beane Count title...I also updated the AL East Review and will work on updating the free agents table throughout

Baltimore vs. Toronto

2007-01-01T13:32:00.000-05:00

So the thing about posting a statement that goes on your gut on a web page that's visited often is that somebody will call you on it. Sometimes, you don't have the evidence for what you're saying, it just comes from down there...I like the Jays team, I think the offense could be dominant...but then I look at the pitching staff. So having said that, a scan of comments yesterday gives...Wow, I'm

Sunday Bloody Sunday

2006-12-31T10:08:00.000-05:00

Well not too much news heading into the new year but there was one signing yesterday...Baltimore continued to load up their roster by signing corner infielder/outfielder Aubrey Huff to a 3 year, $20 million contact. I believe this means that they won't be looking at trading Brian Roberts for Laroche anymore. This gives them great depth though, and it gives them another above average hitter who

Saturday Morning and there's no cartoons on

2006-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

First things first...welcome to BVtN Version 2.0...hope you all like the re-design...onto the day's news.It seems that the D'Backs are close to acquiring the Big Unit and that "a deal may be done before next week"...joy...the yanks get rid of another old man and pick up more pitching prospects. I never thought I'd say this...but Brian Cashman is doing an incredible job at stockpiling the farm

Zito, Rotations, 'ask dan'

2006-12-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

I love when a big signing happens...so many different stats thrown out and so many different opinions...so let's go through them...oh btw if you don't know we're speaking of Barry Zito joining the San Francisco Giants for a reported 7 year deal worth $126 million, it's the biggest signing for a pitcher of all time. So first the stats...Zito has spent 7 seasons in Major League Baseball, winning

2nd update of the day...Zito signs, Big Unit rumors

2006-12-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

It seems that Barry Zito has finally found a home, as a report has him signing with the Giants for the identical contract that Vernon Wells just signed (7 year, $126 million). His VORP was 49.9 and his ERA+ was 116 last season. When Burnett signed his contract with Toronto last year, his ERA+ had been 117 the year before and his VORP had been 33.1. More comparisons later...It seems that the

On the road again....

2006-12-27T23:52:00.000-05:00

Well I'm currently on the road, so here's a first update for the day, I'm unsure whether I'll get another on in but I should.The Yankees have finally signed Kei Igawa on the eve of the deadline. He is set to join a rotation with Wang, Mussina and Pettitte. This allows them to deal Johnson with a bit more ease because Pavano and Hughes will battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. Keith Law also

wednesday news

2006-12-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

It seems that Keith Foulke will join the Cleveland Indians next season. Foulke has struggled because of injuries but in 2006 his ERA+ was of 106 in 49 innings. The AL Central may quickly be taking over as the dominant division of the American League. They have the past two ALCS winners and have four legitimate contenders. They've lost Brown and Kouzmanoff in the trade for Josh Barfield, and

Epstein Trade Analysis + Tidbits

2006-12-26T01:05:00.000-05:00

So the Epstein Trade Analysis was posted as previously mentioned, there were 17 trades analyzed and of those 17, according to my humble opinion:5 were Player Acquisition deals meant to improve the team without giving up Major League talent. He added 155.8 runs more than he gave up while taking on approxamitely $16.5 million in first year salaries5 were baseball deals were the players traded were

Trade for the holidays

2006-12-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone, in case you haven't noticed, the Theo Epstein trade analysis is up, when I come back from holidays I'll analyze it a bit further here and work on some past ones. The White Sox and Rangers have agreed to a five player deal that will see Brandon McCarthy become a Ranger. Interesting deal, has anyone benefitted from having a surplus of pitching more than the White Sox?

Feeding the Monster book review

2006-12-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

Before I get to the review, let's scan the news from across the league...not much going on. The Globe and Mail has a report that salaries were up 9% last season to an average of $2,699,292 US. Can't wait to see the figures next year... Interesting that amongst the teams with the 12 lowest average salaries, only one finished with a winning record...the 2006 Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets met with

Wednesday

2006-12-20T09:04:00.000-05:00

Not too much going on in the baseball world. If there was anything, it would have been overshadowed by the big Iverson trade yesterday. How the best player in the NBA can be traded for only two first round picks and some cap filler is interesting. For Toronto fans, this makes the Carter trade look not as bad, right? Right???Darryl Strawberry has decided to start dispensing advice, and he

Tuesday reading

2006-12-19T10:42:00.000-05:00

Well the talk is starting to go from the Wells re-signing to the "Hunt for Pitching 2006-2007". The Star has comments from Ricciardi saying that trades are getting harder to make and that at some point the young pitchers are going to have to come up and pitch for them. He says the biggest priority is to replace Lilly's innings. In quotes for the Sun he admits that there's a lot of interest in

State of the team

2006-12-18T11:51:00.000-05:00

The press conference was pretty tame, Vernon Wells really looked appreciative of the commitment made by the Jays and seemed awestruck of the money given to him, although his agents had predicted this type of market. Ted Rogers had an interesting comment and one that I think was directed not only as a general message about Canada but also to Jays fans who think that they overpaid Wells. The

Vernon Wells is the Jays CF for the next 8 years

2006-12-16T12:04:00.000-05:00

Well it looks like the Jays will have a press conference on Monday to announce that they have agreed to a 7 year deal with Wells for $126 million. The contract is quite backloaded...and starts for the 2008 season, includes a no trace clause and an opt-out after four season. Here are the details:2008: 0.5 million contract + 8.5 million signing bonus2009: 1.5 million contract + 8.5 million

Dice-K and Vernon

2006-12-15T08:21:00.000-05:00

Buster Olney has a great article on the Boston/Dice-K situation that played out over this week. I really wonder if Boston has anything left to try to go get a closer or if they're done. That pitching staff looks good up to the closer position at this point.Ken Rosenthal states that it is almost a done deal with Vernon Wells. Olney also states that it looks like Wells would accept a contract

Busy times

2006-12-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well I updated the AL East off-season review. By looking at it, the Orioles become scarier although we've seen them improve like this before but the team actully looks solid from top to bottom. They've quietly been one of the most improved teams this off-season. The re-design is underway, I hope to get it done this week but who knows...In case you haven't heard the Red Sox have finally signed

Colorado/Houston trade + Winter Meetings Wrap-up

2006-12-13T00:35:00.000-05:00

Afternoon update, the Red Sox are flying with D-Mat back to Boston, which makes it seem that a deal got done today! Alright there was a big trade yesterday involving 5 players and quite possibly one of the best starters on the trade market...let's run through it. Starting with what the Astros receive Jason Jennings: Solid, solid 27 year old starter! He has been good in Colorado and had a

Free Agency

2006-12-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

night update: there's lots going on so why wait till the morningfirst and foremost: This article claims that Wells has been offered a monster(!!!) 7 year package by the Blue Jays that would pretty much keep him around for life. The Braves have made both Marcus Giles and Chris Reitsma free agents. Giles would look good in a Jays uniform but I think it's unlikely. Reitsma could also be

Tuesday morning

2006-12-12T08:31:00.000-05:00

Today should be a busy day on here, expect the free agent tracker to be updated, the AL East off-season and possibly a new GM article. Not too much action around the League but the AL East is keeping busy...The Orioles have signed free agent outfielder Jay Payton, formerly of the A's. The contract is for two years at $9.5 million per season. It's not a bad deal, Payton plays all three outfield

Monday Morning Ant Brigade

2006-12-11T13:15:00.000-05:00

Well I'm back in beautiful Canada, I'm missing the sun already even though the ground is not white. I know that there's been a lack of updates while I was gone but I hope everyone understands...to make up for it this week should be a big week for the site. The re-design should happen this week, there will be a new GM analysis, I will update the FA sheet and the AL East moves and I'm working on

S-a-t-u-r-d-a-y

2006-12-09T14:49:00.000-05:00

Well it's windy here in Florida, and the winds of change have not yet stopped blowing in the Majors. The Cubs are continuing their spending spree by bringing in Jason Marquis today and the Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte and that will probably mean a Rocket Yankee comeback. Meanwhile in Jays land, the question is: how to address the pitching staff? Indications have it that they're in sign or

Friday Morning Update

2006-12-08T09:24:00.000-05:00

So the Jays left the Winter Meetings without a starting pitcher, although who would want to give Gil Meche the money that is being given to AJ Burnett? Steve Phillips named the Jays the losers of the Winter Meetings for not being able to acquire a starter. It hurts but I would've cringed all season if Meche was going out there for $11 million a season. The Jays don't seem to be in the Zito

update from Florida

2006-12-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

Well it was a good time at the Winter Meetings, we have now moved on to Tampa to go watch some hockey! Only a Canadian would be excited to go to Florida to watch hockey...I've been e-mailed saying that in certain browsers the Articles graphics screw up, will look into it whenever I get home. There's also a site re-design coming and most probably our own domain name! Enough with the boreing

Winter Meetings update

2006-12-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

Not too much to report that hasn't been reported. Spoke with Lilly's agent today who says there are more teams in the mix than just Chicago and Toronto and that they will NOT wait for Zito to sign to set the market. The lobby is crazy, with 100 journalists milling about waiting for news and surging anyone who walks through the lobby. The respect given to Peter Gammons is absolutely incredible.

Licensing corner

2006-12-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

McFarlane Toys are showing off their next series of figures and good news for Jays fans…Troy Glaus will be one of them. There will also be a Robinson Cano figure along with four others.Need to do some Christmas shopping?This Jays hat from New Era is just awesome , they have it on the Jays shop. If I didn’t already have 9 full back Jays hats, I’d be all over it!And has anyone seen these? Baseball

Depodesta's reign posted, wrapped up

2006-12-02T03:09:00.000-05:00

Oh by the way, I'm leaving Saturday for the baseball Winter Meetings so when there are updates, they'll be straight from Florida! The Paul Depodesta analysis is up and ready to go. In it there were 13 trades that were examined that came down to being categorized as 5 baseball deals, 3 player acquisitions, 2 player dumps and one role player dump. In the end, sort of surprising for a big market

AL East Review

2006-12-01T00:16:00.000-05:00

Not much going on in Jays land for once is a lie...they've re-signed Jason Phillips for $500,000. The great Royce Clayton debate rages on the internet meanwhile Jays opponents have taken steps to get better. You can click on any player's name to see their statistics:The Sox apparently got a great deal on one of their Asian pitchers, Hideji Okajima. They signed him to a 2 year deal for only

News from here and...there

2006-11-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

Well well well...lots of differing opinions about yesterday's signing but encouraging signs that JP is trying to completely stock his pitching staff. If he gets two starting pitchers, the rotation would look like Halladay-Burnett-SP1-SP2-Chacin, leaving a whole lot of young pitchers out of a job. Let's see if he signs both what he would do. I think a trade involving Chacin or a couple of the

the Jays have a new Shortstop

2006-11-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

Well I thought I wouldn't miss too much if I took a personal day but the Jays decided to sign another free agent: Royce Clayton! Ken Rosenthal reports that it's a done deal, 1 year, $1.5 million. Clayton is not the most impressive signing but comes cheaply and has great hair! Seriously though the guy brings a good glove but not much of a bat as you can tell by looking at his OPS+ of 66 last

Book Corner: Freakonomics

2006-11-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

I've decided that I will start a bi-weekly(or-so) column about different litterature that I recommend, mostly baseball books that you may have skipped over or that people don't know about yet. This time however I am starting with a book which isn't about baseball *gasp*. It's a book I recently completed and it's called freakonomics. I know the name sounds strange, however the book is written by

A new hat!

2006-11-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

Well the Toronto Blue Jays are unveiling a new hat today at the Frank Thomas press conference! It's a black hat with a scripted "T" in the gray/blue scheme. This hat will most probably replace the grey hat that the team stopped wearing last year. A pic of the new hat (and new DH) to the right..News from the press conference:They came to terms with Gregg Zaun at "midnight last night", he "was

There's gotta be a morning after

2006-11-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

Ok well...the Jays catcher next season will be....Gregg Zaun! According to Jeff Blair, the Jays have re-signed their catcher to a 2 year, $7.25 million deal that includes an option for a third season for $3.5 million based on games played. So the two sides conceded a bit of their demands to come to an agreement. It seems that Rod Barajas did not show up for the physical because there was

WTH??? Zaun on the verge of re-signing?

2006-11-27T23:59:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Zaun is on the verge of re-signing with the Blue Jays. This is completely out of left field.... There's no word on the Barajas deal but I'm guessing it's not official yet...Could JP have used the Barajas leverage to drive Zaun's price down? Or did he just sign two FA catchers to give him incredible depth at the position? Apparently, the Jays deal with Barajas deal broke down. Barajas

Free Agent Review

2006-11-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

As of yet in free agency, teams seem to be paying incredible amounts for hitters. Looking at Value Over Replacement Player and the salaries handed out during free agency is a good way to measure what teams are paying for the production received in free agency. Obviously, it is very basic and does not factor in defense or any personality characteristics such as leadership. The data can be found

Early Morning news

2006-11-27T08:57:00.000-05:00

The Rod Barajas signing is close to being official, varying reports on money and it seems to be around a 2 years/$5.25 million contract .In that same article, it says that the Jays are in a 5 team race for Kennedy and they are in talks with Meche, Lilly, Padilla and MulderOf course, it also says "For the second winter in a row, Ricciardi has made the loudest noise among teams bidding on

Depodesta's Reign Part 2: Trade Deadline Fun

2006-11-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

Here's part two for your reading pleasure, the article will most probably be posted Tuesday if not earlier. I'm also working on a free agent review for the hitters as of yet utilizing *gasp* sabrmetric statistics.9: Traded Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota and Juan Encarnacion to Florida for Hee Seop Choi, Brad Penny and minor leaguer Bill Murphy This was THE trade completed by Depo. In the end,

the Milwaukee/Arizona trade

2006-11-26T10:04:00.000-05:00

So if you haven't heard of it there was a trade yesterday involving Milwauke and Arizona, a six player deal that is quite interesting and may be one of those trades where both sides win...To Milwaukee:Johnny Estrada: A 31 year old catcher who last season had an 91 OPS+ in over 100 games and had asked to be traded by Arizona when they wouldn't sign him long term. He had a VORP of 14.3 last

Depodesta's Reign Part 1: One busy off-season!

2006-11-26T09:57:00.000-05:00

As promised Part 1 of the Article on Depo...enjoy!Hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2004, Paul DePodesta was viewed as the next great young General Manager in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, it did not work out and he was fired in October of the next season. During that time period he completed 17 trades, a number that is even more impressive with the knowledge that all these

Reported Friday Night Signings

2006-11-25T10:02:00.000-05:00

This may be the last time I go out during a Habs game, standing at the bar I found out that the Canadiens came back and won against the best team in the division with one second left in OT, and that there were many reported signings including new info on Rod Barajas. BTW for those looking for the Beane Count wrapup, look lower and there will be a new article posted most probably tomorrow on

Carlos Lee takes a trip to Houston...

2006-11-24T16:04:00.000-05:00

and gets a 6 year, $100 million deal for it. Not bad at all for Carlos who had a career year last year with 37 home runs, .540 slugging and an OPS+ of 125. This is a guy who's combined VORP (47.3) was lower than Gary Matthews Jr. (50.0) last season and he'll be earning more than $16 million per year for playing a corner outfield position (and not especially well at that). I think Ricciardi

Beane count posted, wrapped up!

2006-11-24T00:59:00.000-05:00

Well the entire Beane Count has now been posted, hopefully it’s not another slow news day today, however the market is very much like Ricciardi predicted, quiet in between the meetings…Of the 29 trades analyzed in the Beane Count:12 were Player Acquisitions in which Beane gave up prospects for a more polished player 9 were baseball deals in which players of similar talent levels and contracts

Beane Count Part 6

2006-11-22T16:33:00.000-05:00

The before last part of the Beane Count is up today since it's a slow news day as of yet, let's hope the action picks up later on!Trade number 22: Mark Bellhorn to the Chicago Cubs for Adam MorrisseyBellhorn, a former 2 nd round pick, was deemed expendable because of two emerging youngsters at his positions, Mark Ellis and Eric Chavez. The 27 year old was shipped to the Cubs in exchange for

Baseball Views from the North

Alex Anthopoulos' first moves