HOLD ON, JAYS STILL HAVE ZAUN

So Rod Barajas isn't a Blue Jay and there's a chance that Gregg Zaun will remain one. Glad we got that (almost) settled.

Only in the wonderful world of Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. Who knows what went down with Barajas, who fired his agent rather than sign a deal that would have called for a $200,000 per year pay cut. (Richard Griffin, of course, has his standard answer: Blame the union.)

Getting Zaun back is a temporary relief, but not jump-for-joy stuff. Getting Vernon Wells signed will be jump-for-joy stuff. Oh, and as for the hypothesis that all the free-agent signings this off-season are going to drive up what Wells can pull down, don't make too much of it. There weren't that many high-end free agents this year, so it's was seller's market. The free-agent class for '07-08 potentially includes two other top centre-fielders, Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones.

As for Zaun, he's a good pickup so long as the Jays can keep him around 100-110 games behind the plate, and find a credible backup. He's due to turn 36 in April, which is usually past the best-before date for a catcher, even one who just had the best offensive season of his career.

Anyways, to Jays fans Zaun's like this century's Ernie Whitt -- humble guy, decent hitter, worked hard, made an effort to know the local sportswriters' names, but not good enough of a hitter or durable enough to be more than a semi-regular. Like Whitt, his below-average arm probably cost him some seasons at the start of his career, since a weak-armed catcher has a tougher time winning over managers and GMs, unless he can hit like Mike Piazza.

Batter's Box has a good discussion going on the Jays' catching issue, with one contributor saying the payroll is around $80 million. The Jays would have to be creative to squeeze in another starter and a middle infielder -- and come up cash to re-sign Wells. Or is that just a dream?

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.