IN ROYCE, JAYS MADE ODD CHOICE

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi must be really, really eager to show he's not some Moneyball egghead. How else to explain signing shortstop Royce Clayton?

Either that, or J.P. figured, what the hell and decided to grant the Toronto Star's Richard Griffin -- one of those old-timey sportswriters who always waxes on about the fundamentals and the flashing of leather -- his wish to be "GM for a day."

Clayton is the baseball equivalent of a substitute teacher. He fills in somewhat adequately for a while, until they find someone qualified. He's played for six teams in the past five years. He looks like a major-league shortstop, but his range is shrinking. As for his hitting, he's been "due" for his entire 16-year career.

Or as Baseball Musings put it (I checked after writing my post): "So he's a lousy offensive player, and he's not a great defensive player, but at $1.5 million at least he's a cheap lousy player!"

Hey, maybe the Jays still hope Russ Adams can get his act together and that Clayton is just a stopgap measure. Please, let Russ Adams get his act together.

Having a proven veteran shortstop, even a declining one, should help manager John Gibbons' peace of mind, which is good, since he has been known to lose his temper occasionally (see, Hillenbrand, Shea and Lilly, Theodore Edward). Clayton also came came cheaply (one year, $1.5 million).

Bottom line for a Jays fan: This move is just way to cleanse the palate until J.P. lands some starting pitching -- and gets Vernon Wells signed. Clayton's an early contender to lead the majors in the Neifi Index -- a stat invented by Salon.com's King Kaufman for the players who hurt their teams more the more they play.

(UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Ricciardi told a conference call "nothing is defined right now" with the Jays' plans at shortstop.)

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