Showing posts with label Phillippe Aumont. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phillippe Aumont. Show all posts

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Aumont gets an aggressive promotion

(And there is a bit of a bromance going on with Tyson Gillies, all of a sudden.)

There's been an urge to write a Phillippe Aumont post for a while now, since he is halfway through his first season as a reliever. Well, wouldn't you know, the Hull native whom the Seattle Mariners are sweet on making their closer has been promoted to Double-A ball. At the age of 20. This is baseball-nerd brain candy.

U.S.S. Mariner can better explain how Aumont has done this far as a closer (click below the jump):
"So, what have we learned about our ‘07 first-round pick in the past few months? Aumont struggled out of the gate, with some mediocre command marring his April performances and leaving him with a 9/6 K/BB in 10.1 innings. This improved significantly to a 16/2 in 14.1 May innings, but it was coupled with a few more of his hits leaving the park. In June, his performances were more towards the middle; his control wasn’t quite as good, but his home run rate wasn’t quite as bad and hitters were having some difficulty making contact off of him. It would seem that he’s been in the process of adjusting back and forth over the past few months in response to what’s happening around him, which is definitely a good sign."
Aumont started this season in the California League ("High-A" ball) with the High Desert Mavericks. He had 12 saves and a 3.24 ERA in 29 appearances, with 35 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings and a measly .197 opponents' batting average.

There will always be an element of the road less travelled as long as the Mariners keep Aumont in a reliever's role. He made it to the Futures Game (the minor-league all-star game held two nights before the MLB All-Star Game) held at Yankee Stadium last year, but he missed it due to elbow problems. The Mariners' thinking might be that a 6-foot-7 pitcher who throws darts has the countenance of a closer.

Meantime, there is big stuff going on with the sundry Canadians in Seattle's system. Outfielder Michael Saunders might get called up from Tacoma to play left now that Endy Chavez might be done for the season with a knee injury. (It's either Saunders or put Ken Griffey Jr. in the field.) Erik Bedard should be back in 10 days to two weeks.

The Mariners also have another B.C. ballplayer, 20-year-old centrefielder Tyson Gillies, a line-drive machine who played youth baseball with the Langley Blaze and is legally deaf.

Gillies is on-basing .442 (third in the Cal League) for High Desert and has nine triples, tied for most in the league. The temptation is to compare him with Curtis Pride, the one-time Ottawa Lynx who was legally deaf and had a long career as a quadruple-A outfielder.

Gillies might be the classic toolsy outfielder (he's fast and comes advertised as having a great arm), but the question will be if he'll hit for enough power to progress in baseball. A lot of guys can put up a sick OBP in the lower minors. Gillies has more triples than doubles (9-8). Prospects guru John Sickels did not have him among his top 20 Mariners prospects coming into the season. Still, when you consider the disadvantage of being legally deaf, you have to root for him.

Related:
Aumont joins Diamond Jaxx (Jay Yencich, U.S.S. Mariner)

Monday, April 06, 2009

Zen Dayley: How do you spell relief? A-u-m-o-n-t

Paraphrasing a Seinfeld rerun that was on yesterday, "That's a hell of an organization they're runnin' up there. I can't understand why they haven't won a pennant in thirty-two years."

Bleeding Blue And Teal is apoplectic over the Seattle Mariners moving Hull native Phillippe Aumont to the bullpen. A real red flag, which comes via Geoff Baker:
"Aumont is said to be quite anxious to get to the big leagues. So, he's apparently on-board with this plan.

" 'If he's going to start, then he'll have to learn a whole bunch of other pitches,'' (Mariners GM Bob) Zduriencik said. "He'll have to perfect a bunch of different pitches and that could take some time. Going this route, we'll see if it's his ticket to getting there and doing something much more quickly.' "
The point is why the Mariners would do this with a 20-year-old with only one year of minor-league ball under his belt and limiting his ceiling. It seems odd.

Bleeding Blue and Teal ain't happy, pointing out the Mariners have three recent first-round picks who have been converted to the 'pen:
"Brandon Morrow is the closer right now and Josh Fields should be big league ready next season. You’ve also got a promising young arm in Shawn Kelley who just made the big club, and a couple other young-ish power arms currently in the ‘pen. Why do you need Aumont on the fast track? Who cares if he takes four years to get his secondary stuff worked out? This is just dumb.
Zduriencik told the Seattle Times that they believe Aumont has a chance to be "one of the big bullpen arms" in the game.

The part about Aumont being onside with the move because he's "anxious" to get to the big leagues is troublesome. He got a big bonus from the Mariners in the 2007 draft and ultimately good things will come to him in time, right?

He only turned 20 on Jan. 7. Aumont, one would think, has plenty of time to refine his command and control and become a front-end starter. Granted, as most of you saw during the World Baseball Classic, he offers some unique possibilities as a reliever.

Related:
Intro to Aumont Debacle (Jon Shields, Bleeding Blue And Teal)
Aumont to bullpen role (Geoff Baker, Mariners Blog)
More Zdurencik on Aumont (Geoff Baker, Mariners Blog)
New Front Office Trying To Make Us Stop Saying Nice Things (U.S.S. Mariner)

Saturday, March 07, 2009

WBC: What a ballgame, that is all

It is a little tough to be totally galvanized when you're looking to Mike Johnson — once cut by the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, for chrissakes — as your paradigm of hope.

Nevertheless, that roar at Rogers Centre — at least three OOLFers were in attendance — during Canada's sadistically close 6-5 loss to Team USA was awesome today. Canada hung in until the final out, when J.J. Putz got Jason Bay to fly out to right field on a 3-2 pitch.

It almost evoked what it was like in Toronto for an all-too-brief period in the early 1990s. The point is that generation who were tweens and teens during the Jays' salad days are moving — or were, before the R-word — into their prime earning years, and they're ready to redefine the often staid Toronto sports-watching experience.

Watching the game today, it became clear why it's bittersweet for Canadian footy fans, or maybe us nutters for university sports, when there is a halfway seminal moment. There is always that feeling that it's all a chimera, that soon the game will go back to being an afterthought among most casual fans. Fifty thousand people were there, including a healthy contingent of U.S. fans, which only adds to the atmosphere. It was tense throughout.

Anyway, there's not too much to add. Canada, considering it was saving Scott Richmond for a must-win game vs. the loser of tonight's Venezuela-Italy game, hung with Team USA better than a lot of people might have figured. As you know, Toronto's own Joey Votto was nails, going 4-for-5 with a homer and a run-scoring double that put Canada in position to tie the game in the ninth inning. Canada had Justin Morneau and Jason Bay coming up with the tying run 180 feet away and couldn't catch a break against the Americans' closer, J.J. Putz from the Seattle Mariners. Ooh, we almost had it.

Meantime, how about the Netherlands knocking off the Dominican Republic. Full marks go to Ron Rollins at Baseball Over Here, since he had the Dutch winning that game.

One last thing: Phillippe Aumont is all about speed. Filthy, nasty, bad-ass speed. He struck out Kevin Youkilis and Curtis Granderson with the bases loaded. Paraphrasing Kenny Powers in East Bound & Down, everyone wants a piece of Aumont's stuff, including Baseball America.

(One little Seamheady point: It was little amusing when Canada shortstop Chris Barnwell came up and Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino launched right into the party line that the Triple-A infielder was selected for his ability to get on base. Barnwell, who did on-base .375 in Triple-A one season, whiffed on three pitches vs. U.S starter Jake Peavy. Catcher Russ Martin ended up walking on a full count and eventually scoring the day's first run.)

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Batter up: World Baseball Classic, Pool C

The 2009 World Baseball Classic officially began in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Most teams, including those from North America, get started on the weekend. (Where were you on March 8, 2006, when Canada beat the U.S.?)

Next up: a preview of Pool C (Toronto): Canada, the U.S., Italy, and Venezuela.


UNITED STATES
  • Opener: Saturday, March 7 vs. Canada (2 pm ET)
  • WBC 2006: Went 3-3 in group play: lost to South Korea and Canada, split with Mexico, and beat Japan and South Africa. And in a devastating blow to their opponents' chances at easy wins, 2006 manager Buck Martinez has been replaced with the competent Davey Johnson. (In a devastating blow to their own, Ernie Whitt remains with Canada.) Johnson said the team is better-prepared this time. There's no indication that he wanted to finish that sentence with "because Buck isn't around." However, there is no indication that it's anything else.
  • Players to watch: Tons. RHP Roy Oswalt (Astros), RHP Jake Peavy (Padres), RHP J.J. Putz (Mets), C Brian McCann (Braves), 3B David Wright (Mets), 1B Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox), SS Jimmy Rollins (Phillies), OF Shane Victorino (Phillies), OF Curtis Granderson (Tigers), SS Derek Jeter (Yankees), 1B Adam Dunn (Nationals)
  • Who's missing: Two top relievers, Joe Nathan of the Twins and B.J. Ryan of the Blue Jays, and Brad Hawpe of the Rockies (116 career OPS+)
  • Pitching: Peavy and Oswalt are better than most teams' 1 and 2. In the major leagues. Peavy, the expected starter against Canada, also breezed through a March 1 outing: 33 pitches in three innings. They also have Ted Lilly (Cubs) and Jeremy Guthrie (Orioles), so that's four big-league starters (four more than some teams). Brian Fuentes (Angels) is out for at least the first round for personal reasons, but if he makes it back, he's one of the best out of the 'pen. Putz had some troubles against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, whereas Lilly apparently did not, for what that's worth.
  • Hitting: On paper, devastating. You can see the list of hitters they have. The worst lineup would have Chris Iannetta (104 career OPS+) and Mark DeRosa (118, 102, 108 the last three years). It remains to be seen whether they'll all show up 100%, and whether any of them will blow off the game and go spent $26 on mineral water at Harbour Sixty.
  • Fielding: You know and I know and Jimmy Rollins knows that Derek Jeter will play shortstop. This is not perfect, but not devastating. Other than that, Dunn should be kept out of the outfield, and Chipper Jones away from third (especially with Wright around).
  • Predicted Round 1 finish: First
  • Tournament potential: This would be a 90-win team in MLB. Semifinals are almost a certainty. Once there, Cuba or Japan have the ability to stop them.
VENEZUELA
  • Opener: Saturday, March 7 vs. Italy (8 pm ET)
  • WBC 2006: Didn't advance past Round 2. They beat Italy, Australia, and Puerto Rico, then lost to Cuba once and the Dominicans twice. Only one of those teams is in this pool and they won't matter much.
  • Players to watch: RHP Felix Hernandez (Mariners), RHP Francisco Rodriguez (Mets), RHP Felix Hernandez (Mariners), OF Magglio Ordonez (Tigers), RHP Felix Hernandez (Mariners), OF Bobby Abreu (Angels), 3B Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), RHP Felix Hernandez (Mariners), RHP Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
  • Who's missing: Freddy Garcia and Kelvim Escobar and Carlos Zambrano, all starters, some better than others.
  • Pitching: It's all about King Felix. Not having anyone behind him hurts. If they have to rely on the new, slimmer Carlos Silva, Venezuela may not advance past Round 2.
  • Hitting: Abreu and Ordonez highlight this major-league lineup. There are no holes as long as Cesar Izturis is a gloveman and a gloveman only.
  • Fielding: Cabrera has seen better days, even though he's just 25. But with Marco Scutaro and Melvin Mora, they have the infield covered and some of the outfield as well. Endy Chavez is pretty good in CF and he'll have to cover for Abreu in right. Carlos Guillen, a former shortstop and first baseman, apparently won't play unless he's in left field. On balance, their D is good but not great.
  • Predicted Round 1 finish: Second
  • Tournament potential: Not quite the semi-finals. They have five or six stars, a great supporting cast, but not enough pitching talent to do any real damage.
CANADA
  • Opener: Saturday, March 7 vs. USA (2 pm ET)
  • WBC 2006: Where to start? They nearly lost to South Africa (South Africa (South Africa)) when Paul Quantrill forgot how to pitch. Adam Stern torched the Americans to give the team hope, then a pitcher whose name we are not allowed to speak shut them down in their last-hope game against Mexico. They were the only 2-1 team not to advance to Round 2 thanks to a pretty questionable tiebreaker system that is fortunately well in the past this time around.
  • Players to watch: C Russell Nathan Coltrane Jeanson Martin (Dodgers), OF Jason Bay (Red Sox), 1B Joey Votto (Reds), 1B Justin Morneau (Twins)
  • Who's missing: Someone with more than five major-league starts. Jeff Francis, Erik Bédard, and Rich Harden are all otherwise occupied.
  • Pitching: Scott Richmond and...anyone? Well, Richmond has good control. Unfortunately this sometimes means "good control down the middle of the plate." Vince Perkins will start the second game: he's a former Blue Jay minor leaguer who once had potential but has missed a lot of time due to Tommy John surgery. Chris Begg is a longtime international rep who pitched well in Beijing and might get a start. Phillippe Aumont is intriguing, if only because of his age. The bullpen is full of names you don't know, but bullpens can be built that way and still be effective. Jesse Crain will be relied on for a lot. Steve Green has the U.S. game from 2006 to warrant attention in late innings. The other guys are in their mid-20s and still in Single-A or Double-A, so there's not much to say.
  • Hitting: You know Morneau. Votto came second in Rookie of the Year voting in the N.L. last year and is another bopper. Aside from the four hitters above, Adam Stern and Pete Orr bring enthusiasm if not big-league bats and Mark Teahen can hit if not field. (Stubby Clapp, due respect, is fast approaching the Rheal Cormier Memorial Interchange on the You Haven't Played Pro Ball In How Many Years? Expressway.)

    The offence won't be a weakness, not with those four big hitters in the 2-5 spots and Matt Stairs somewhere else in the order. (Stairs should be higher and Martin should lead off, but it's Ernie Whitt.) The thing is, if there's one constant in Canadian ball, it's watching the many lefty hitters flail away against lefty pitchers. Get used to this.
  • Fielding: With Bay in centre and Stairs in right, Nick Weglarz better practice his long-distance running. (Votto can fake it out there, but Votto-Bay-Stairs is probably cruel and certainly unusual.) And as much as Adam Stern contributed in 2006, his bat doesn't justify his glove in a starting role. In the infield, they're not hurting up the middle with Martin, Orr, and Chris Barnwell.
  • Predicted Round 1 finish: Third, but an upset is possible
  • Tournament potential: If by some chance they advance to Miami, that'll certainly be it. Of the U.S., Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, how many could Canada realistically beat? If you didn't say "three" or "four" then there you go.
ITALY
  • Opener: Saturday, March 7 vs. Venezuela (8 pm ET)
  • WBC 2006: Their only win came against Australia: lost to Venezuela 6-0 and the Dominican Republic 8-3.
  • Players to watch: 1B Frank Catalanotto (Rangers), OF Val Pascucci (Dodgers), 2B Davide Dallospedale, OF Mario Chiarini, M-A Dave Bidini (Peones)
  • Who's missing: Mike Piazza is coaching, not playing, this time. Maximiliano De Biase was recently one of the best hitters in the Italian leagues but doesn't appear to be on this roster. Other than that, it's not clear who could make the team competitive.
  • Pitching: Grilli's just a reliever, Mark DiFelice could probably soak up some innings, and any Blue Jays fan would love to see Lenny DiNardo on the mound against Canada. (You know, it would almost be better if the Italians brought over an entirely unknown group of hungry players from Serie B rather than populating the roster with these AAAA players.)
  • Hitting: Dallospedale and Chiarini are pretty decent hitters in Italy; no clue how much you discount that against these American and Venezuelan pitchers. At least Catalanotto, Pascucci, Chris Denorfia, and Nick Punto aren't pushovers. Pascucci was too early in the Expos system to be an Ottawa fan favourite, but too late to save the Expos, and he's actually a very good hitter for someone who's never been given a chance. But overall this doesn't seem like a great lineup.
  • Fielding: Outside of Dallospedale, not much is known of the Italian players. Joe Mazzuca, second baseman by trade, might have a spot in the infield, but he also may be behind Dallospedale and Punto. Catalanotto is best used at DH.
  • Predicted Round 1 finish: Fourth
  • Tournament potential: You have to ask?

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Aumont having his moments



Hull's Phillippe Aumont (the experts say mechanics need smoothing out) did a really nice job of freezing Adam Loewen with a slider during the Canada-Blue Jays exhibition game in Dunedin yesterday. It's amusing, one first-round draft choice striking out a former first-rounder who's switched to the outfield.

(You-had-to-be-there omment of the day, from Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino after a Jays hitter doubled off the right-field behind Matt Stairs: "Matt might not have been quick enough to get back to the wall, and he might not be tall enough to have reached it if he got there.")

Monday, February 23, 2009

Zen Dayley: With a dry, cool wit like that, no wonder he won 355 games

The great pitcher Greg Maddux guiled his way to 355 career victories, so it's no shock he would put one over on his old ballclub.

Ballplayers can be pretty protective of their old numbers. As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark related, when Maddux's ex-L.A. Dodgers teammate Derek Lowe signed with the Atlanta Braves (the silver medal for losing out on A.J. Burnett), he joked with Maddux about taking his No. 31, which the Braves "haven't given ... to anyone else since Maddux exited."

It probably would have gone no farther with most people, but not with Greg Maddux.
"Jokester that he is," Lowe chuckled, "he actually called the Braves and told them he would let me wear No. 31."

Maddux even sounded so earnest when he made that call, the Braves totally bought his act. So GM Frank Wren decided he had to intervene.

"I was getting ready to sign with the Braves when Frank texted me," Lowe said, "and he said, 'We have a problem here. We're not really going to give out No. 31.' Was there any other number I'd like to choose?"

So Lowe said he'd take No. 32 if he had to. And you'd have thought that would have been the end of this. But it wasn't.

The Braves were still so unsure who was kidding and who wasn't that when Wren arrived at Lowe's news conference, he got a call from media relations director Brad Hainje. And the question of the day was: "Which uniform are we using -- 31 or 32?" The GM was pretty sure he had the answer, but not quite sure enough.

"So I actually went to Derek at the press conference and said, 'Derek, what's this about 31? Are you really going to wear 31?' " Wren said. "And he looked at me like: 'What the heck are you talking about?' "

So obviously, Lowe is running around this spring, wearing No. 32. But he also has his very own Braves jersey with No. 31 on the back, as the ultimate souvenir.
It times like that the reaffirm baseball kind of cultivates a sense of humour when other sports. Free-associating anything with the recently retired Maddux falls into treating athletes as a rhetorical device, but it's stories such as these which will be rehashed endless when he goes into Cooperstown in 2014.

This, that and the other



(Link via It Is About The Money, Stupid.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Zen Dayley: Je suis désolé, j'ai pensé la cette Amérique

Il est raisonnable de se demander combien la situation d'Erik Bédard dans Seattle affecte l'aileur francophone semblable Phillippe Aumont.

On a pu ne jamais jaillir n'ont rien à faire avec l'autre. Les Mariners du Seattle sont la seule équipe dans les commandants avec deux pichets à extrémité élevé qui sont les deux francophones, jouant un sport qui est couru dans leur deuxième langue. Bédard rencontre les mêmes problèmes avec les médias qu'il a fait à Baltimore. Aumont, qui a à peine voyagé en dehors du Québec dans les 17 premiers, 18 années de sa vie, est des années d'un couple à partir d'avoir affaire avec les écrivains de sport américains réactionnaires qui viennent d'une culture où la diversité de reconnaissance, encore moins lui adaptant, est un péché cardinal. L'élection de Barack Obama ne s'est pas débarassée de Gallophobia latent.

(Les Mariners ont été prudents avec Aumont, comme USA Today l'a mis dans leur annuel «100 Names You Need To Know». Ceci est probablement dû au sien début en retard dans le jeu plus qu'une barrière linguistique; il se manipule très bien en anglais.)

C'est plus au sujet de la façon dont les chroniqueurs ne l'obtiennent pas avec Bédard et de la façon dont les médias l'emploieront comme point de référence quand Aumont arrive à Seattle. Bédard est modeste et lance, un enfant de ferme qui a élevé les Français parlants vers le haut. Un commutateur n'obtient pas renversé juste parce qu'il est $7.75 millions payé pour jeter des baseball. Malheureusement, ce tombe en dehors du coupeur de biscuit pour les types de supports dont l'élément vital est montrant eux, et par prolongation vous, comprenez comme ce qu'il est d'être un pro athlète. Aucun de nous n'a un indice. Il est comme prétendre être un docteur parce que vous observez «House».

Un scribe de Seattle, Jim Moore, est allé jusqu'ici appeler le Bédard «aloof», «jerk», «moody», et le «least-liked Mariner of all time». Sa base était que Bédard ne s'est pas inquiété pour parler aux médias la saison passée où il a été limité par des dommages douloureux de hanche. La plupart des joueurs n'aiment pas parler aux médias quand ils sont blessés. Ne jouant pas des moyens ils sont embarrassed et souvent peu sûrs au sujet de parler aux journalistes.

Il y avait également une citation de Jamie Burke, l'attrapeur personnel de Bédard, «You would know him as well as I do». La signification de celle est peu claire. Elle ne serait pas la première fois que deux personnes qui travaillent étroitement ensemble, beaucoup moins deux joueurs de base-ball, n'ont eu aucun travail d'extérieur de rapport. Évidemment, cet arrangement ne peut pas serrer un certain chroniqueur qui comprend tout «d'une manière vous, étranger faible-chinned, ne faites pas». (Michael Lewis, Moneyball.)

On espérerait qu'Aumont devrait être bon. Il descend à la personnalité, finalement. Il est simplement irritant pour voir Bédard donner un mauvais moment au-dessus de rien puisqu'il est commode pour quelqu'un qui doit remplir espace, mais n'a rien valable pour contribuer. Quel pays.

Rien qu'un certain Canadien dit ne va changer l'esprit ou l'approche d'un chroniqueur 3.000 milles loin. On l'accepte que certains écrivent comme elles pêchent pour être sur ESPN ou pour être sur la radio débat avec tous les «knowitalls» au lieu de dire la vérité. C'est la vie.

(Svp lu cette liste d'USA Today. Pas que n'importe qui a eu besoin d'un rappel, mais de Travis Snider du Blue Jays est deuxieme, après David Price.)

It is reasonable to wonder how Erik Bedard's situation in Seattle affects fellow francophone flinger Phillippe Aumont.

One could never well have nothing to do with the other. The Mariners are the only team in the majors with two high-end pitchers who are both francophone, playing a sport which is run in their second language. Bedard is encountering the same problems with the media that he did in Baltimore. Aumont, who barely travelled outside Quebec in the first 17, 18 years old of his life, is a couple years away from dealing with reactionary American sportswriters who come from a culture where acknowledging diversity, let alone accommodating it, is a cardinal sin. The election of Barack Obama did not get rid of latent Gallophobia.

(The Mariners "have been conservative" bringing along the hard-throwing Aumont, as USA Today put it in their annual 100 Names You Need To Know. This is likely due to his late start in the game more than a language barrier; he handles himself very well in English.)

This is more about how columnists just don't get it with Bedard and how the media will use him as a point of reference when Aumont arrives in Seattle. Bedard is unassuming and shy, a farm kid who grew up speaking French. A switch does not get flipped just because he is being paid $7.75 million to throw baseballs. Unfortunately, that falls outside the cookie cutter for media types whose lifeblood is showing they, and by extension you, understand what it's like to be a pro athlete. None of us, present company included, have a screw's clue what it's like any more than watching House makes you qualified to be a doctor.

A couple weeks ago, one Seattle scribe went so far to call Bedard "aloof," a "jerk" "moody," and "least-liked Mariner of all time." His basis was that Bedard didn't care to talk to the media last season when he was limited to 81 innings (the lowest of his five full seasons) by a painful hip injury. Most players don't like to talk to the media when they're injured; they're usually embarrassed and often insecure because they're not playing.

There was also a quote from Jamie Burke, Bedard's personal catcher, "You'd know him as well as I do." The meaning of that is unclear. It would not be the first time two people who work closely together, much less two ballplayers, had no relationship outside work. Evidently, that understanding cannot crowd some columnist who understands everything "in a way you, weak-chinned outsider, will not." (Michael Lewis, Moneyball.)

One would hope Aumont should be fine. It comes down to personality, ultimately. It is just irritating to see Bedard give a rough ride over nothing since it is convenient for someone who needs to fill space, but has nothing valuable to contribute. What a country.

Nothing some Canadian says is going to change the mind or approach of a columnist 3,000 miles away. It is accepted that some people write like they are angling to be on ESPN or be on talk radio with all the knowitalls instead of telling the truth. C'est la vie.

(Check out that USA Today list. Not that anyone needed a reminder, but the Jays' Travis Snider is No. 2 behind Rays super-lefty David Price.

(A tip of the cap to Garry Trudeau, George Frazier and, Babelfish.)

Monday, January 05, 2009

Snark break ...

(Honestly, the Snark Break bit might have to die ... on Mondays, it should be, in honour of favourite funny bastard Bill Murray's first big role, the Trippers, as in, "It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!" Anyway, it just doesn't matter ...

... that four Montreal Canadiens were elected to start for the Eastern Conference in the NHL all-star game and Alex Ovechkin, the best player in the sport, will only go as a reserve. It's an exhibition game in a sport where players only stay in the ice for 40-50 seconds at a clip, does it matter who starts? The NHL All-Star Game is as pertinent to hockey as Ben Lyons is to film criticism. Let it go.

... that there are still two games left in the Bowl Clusterphooey Series. The blogetariat is convinced the national championship should be handed to the unbeaten Utah Utes.

... that each team is not guaranteed a possession in NFL overtime, when it's Peyton Manning's team that ends up never seeing the ball. (Seriously, it's stupid.)

... who gets centrefielder Andruw Jones and his restructured contract, although it would be nice if he went back to the Atlanta Braves. Then they would have Chipper Jones and Cheaper Jones.

(One columnist has convinced himself Jones' career is done. Well, why didn't you say that his career is over? Start in with the J.P. Ricciardi jokes in 3-2-1 ...)

... that you never bother to read anything at AOL Fanhouse, because it's dead on arrival now that it has signed up Jay Mariotti. (Thank you, Sports On My Mind.)

... that the Minnesota Vikings, my Minnesota Vikings, lost out in the NFL playoffs. It puts Brad Childress on a short leash in 2009, one would hope. The game was there for the taking even though they didn't play very well or all that aggressively. It's kind of a microcosm of how it's gone under Childress. Anyone think that Bill Cowher would call for a run up the middle or a, groan, safe pass, right after the defence forces a turnover at midfield? No, he'd force the issue. The mind reels.

... that Kinger is the only one who gets why Big Wheel At The Cracker Factory would be a great title for a book if some guy wasn't already using it.

... that someone is another a year older. Thanks again to the readers and friends, and all of you are in the latter category, who sent Facebook messages to the newly minted 30-something-year-old. I debuted the same year as two franchises who have underperformed lately -- Star Wars and the Blue Jays.

This post is worth nothing, but this is worth noting
  • Bob Elliott of Sun Media published a list of the 100 most influential Canadians in baseball over the weekend. Jonah Keri of ESPN.com, Gatineau native Phillippe Aumont and Baseball Canada's Jim Baba (who had a little something to do with the Ottawa Rapids' existence) each made the list (and ahead of jamiecampbell, too).

    The Ottawa Citizen sportswriter Don Campbell, who's an accomplished youth baseball coach, received a honourable mention.
  • Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis, a Kingston guy, got a right good Kurtenblogging. Please don't shoot the messenger.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Aumont on the way up...

Phillippe Aumont has been included in MLB.com's Top 50 minor-league prospects.

The big right-hander from Gatineau, who's entering his second season in the Seattle Mariners organization, is listed at No. 33.
"A sore elbow slowed him down in the second half, but it's not a big cause for concern. He throws his fastball, which has hard sink and is tough to pick up, up to 95 mph, with room for more. The breaking ball (curve) has a chance to be plus pitch, but his changeup is his third pitch and needs to be improved. He has pretty good command, especially for his age, and uses his size well for mound presence."
(Thanks to Rattler Radio for the link.)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Zen Dayley: By a factor of 10, no more

The "Dayley" aspect of Zen Dayley is going to get figured out, soon enough. How about the Tampa Bay Rays going to 30 games above .500, with the White Sox pitching doing the gift-wrapping? Some bullet points, after the jump

Should-reads

  • Jonah Keri takes on the Base 10 Mafia, so-called -- the baseball writers who " a in hits 3,000 or homers 500 wins, 300 season, wins 20 over obsessing 10, of multiples importance the overstate constantly career.?

    Keri notes that only six pitchers in baseball history have won more games than Mike Mussina, with a higher winning percentage. Six. That should clear up any question about Mussina's Hall of Fame credentials.
  • The Mariners might want to consider trading Ichiro. That will happen right after Seattle trades the Space Needle.
  • Speaking of the M's organization (oxymoron, natch), Phillippe Aumont is on the disabled list again.
  • It's a little disturbing that even venerable Thomas Boswell in indulging fantanking -- the concept of looking at who might be the No. 1 pick before the season is over (OK, so it's been over for the Washington Nationals since the second week of April, but still). Drooling over San Diego State/U.S. Olympic team right-hander Stephen Strasburg, everyone's No. 1 pick in 2009, is too prosaic for Boz.
  • Dale Stevens (full disclosure: he's run the Canadian university basketball discussion list) has a great job in baseball.
Damn, the Jays
  • See how it works? In the wee hours of Saturday morning, mock the Jays for not having anyone who can keep up to the dizzying home-run exploits of Willie Harris.

    On Saturday, Vernon Wells hits two vs. the Red Sox, tying him with the Double Flap. It's all part of the grand plan.
  • Lefty Brett Cecil is a work-in-progress at Syracuse, but he threw seven no-hit innings at Triple-A on Saturday night. (He came out after 86 pitches.) He's given up just two hits, both singles, in his last two starts, while getting more than half the outs on ground balls. This means Jays Talk callers will expect him to be called up tomorrow.
  • Shockingly, and sadly, membership in the Facebook group Brad Mills will pitch in the Bigs still be languishing in double digits That's poor, Jays fans, very poor, considering that Brad Mills' progress -- ERA just above 2 and more than a strikeout an inning this summer while advancing two levels in the farm system.

    Please, Drunk Jays Fans, get on this. Brad Mills needs the love.
  • FanGraphs had a note on another Jays minor-league pitcher, righty reliever Robert Bell, who's got a 36-to-zero strikeout-to-walk ratio and has held hitters to a .149 opponents' average in the NY-Penn League. It's very early yet, but that's not bad for an 18th-round pick out of Rice University. (Teams fearing burned-out elbows and shoulders often shy away Rice pitchers due to the Owls' intensive schedule, so Bell slipped in the draft.)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Zen Dayley: Cuban would be in the Bonds market

The longer Barry Bonds remains in left-handed slugger's limbo (it's not bad, but it's not great), the more it increases a fan's desire to Mark Cuban win the Chicago Cubs sweepstakes.

Cuban is anteing up $1.3 billion for the Cubbies. As you probably know, he will face a major challenge trying to get the required three-quarters approval from 23 of 29 MLB owners.

The Cubs also have Alfonso Soriano in left field, but this is not really about Bonds playing for Chicago. It's not even about the 44-year-old home-run king getting a chance to succeed or fail on his own merits, even though every other Hall of Fame player, was given that courtesy, and not just the nice guys. (Bonds says he's in fighting trim.)

The point is that Bonds, or any other player with a nasty reputation, are anathema to members-in-good-standing clubs such as the Houston Astros and your Toronto Blue Jays. They don't want the drama, the whiff of controversy -- or the end to their lack of left-handed power at the DH/corner outfield spots. Granted, you know what you're getting with Brad Wilkerson. In the Jays' case, that's a .221 average and 13 homers from the DH spot.

For Bonds -- and maybe Milton Bradley, almost need by an Al Davis type. Cuban comes closer to that than anyone else who currently owns a major professional team.

Perhaps Cuban would play by the house rules if he landed the Cubbies. He's mellowed out over time with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA; he says only been fined once by the league in the past five years. He and Sam Zell, who wants to unload the Cubs, could sue to get him into the owners' ranks. Eamonn Brennan wrote last week, "Major League Baseball likes its old-boy owners, its old money, its quiet yes-men, and it doesn't like to have its quaint club disrupted by those of ill-repute. Mark Cuban's antics do not endear him to Major League Baseball. After all, when was the last time you saw an MLB owner take pregame press questions on his treadmill?"

That's a big matzo ball hanging out there. But would Cuban sign a Bonds type, or maybe in a few seasons, an aging but still productive Manny Ramirez? It stands to reason that he would be more likely to do so than some teams. There are a few which, to quote Houston columnist Richard Justice, "have a reputation for wanting guys that look and sound alike." (Justice also sticks the dagger by pointing out that if personality is an issue, well, the Astros have employed Jeff Kent and Roger Clemens.)

Point being, he wouldn't freeze out a controversial player, because in his words, to "make good money is a win for everyone." The NFL realizes this -- it's show business. Cuban would be too late to the game for Bonds, but not too late to shake up baseball. A byproduct might be that it would help a few players who have been smeared with the bad-apple brush.

Errata


  • Speaking of which, FanGraphs has a look at what kind of offers the Rangers' league-leading slugger Milton Bradley is going to elicit in the off-season. As is always the case with Bradley, it's fraught with something. He can hit, no question, but no one's likely to guarantee him more than two seasons.

    The U.S. economic slowdown probably won't play a part in what kind of offers Bradley does or doesn't receive. Baseball's coffers are still flush; any change in the player market won't come until after the 2009 season.
  • Ken Griffey Jr.'s return to centrefield is working about as well as expected. It's time for the White Sox to break out the nerve tonic.
  • Phillippe Aumont had a decent outing in his first game with the Mariners' Class-A team since coming off the disabled list. He went three innings, giving up one run on three hits with two walks, one strikeout and a wild pitch. One positive sign: Five of the nine outs he got came on ground balls.
  • In other 2007 first-round draft pick news ... the Rays promoted phenom left-hander David Price to Triple-A. The over/under on how long it is before he's called up to the majors is three starts.
  • One takeaway from Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown's column on Skimgate is that MLB would have to re-open the collective agreement in order to have a universal entry draft (which even the stodgy NHL has. King Kaufman also noted that this means that Gary Sheffield had a point when he attributed the diminishing number of black players in baseball to the belief that Latinos "are easier to control."
Damn, the Jays
  • No disrespect, but if Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick are coming back to the Jays, how come it's on the website of an out-of-town newspaper?
  • It would only be fair if the Jays rack Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee pretty well on Sunday after abandoning Roy Halladay on Saturday.
  • Great stat from John Brattain: The Jays have scored four runs or less in a game times since Opening Day 2007. That's almost an entire season's worth of never having a big night with the bats.
  • Mike Wilner is calling out Alex Rios for being lackadaisacal yesterday: "one hopes that with the new regime in place, they’ll be able to get a stern message across to Rios about his at-the-very-least occasional lack of effort, but for now their hands are tied. It’s not like they could put Joe Inglett or Brad Wilkerson out in centrefield tomorrow with Cliff Lee on the mound, nor should they."
  • Please read The Tao of Stieb's takedown of those who would make a big show out of pronouncing the Jays dead and buried (they are, but that's not the point).

    There are going to be times during the season when, for sanity's sake, it's best to give the Jays a pass for a week or so.

    There's an odd phenomena, though, when you cheer for an also-ran team -- you find yourself drifting back in during August and September. It stems from the feeling that the season is almost done and it won't be that long until you're staring at five long months of fall and winter before spring training opens down in Dunedin. The beauty of baseball, of course, is that your team can still be interesting to follow when they're not in the hunt. The same can't be said of NFL, NHL and NBA.
Les Rapidz
  • On his vacation, good friend Carl Kiiffner caught up with former Lynx owner Ray Pecor and GM Kyle Bostwick, who are no worse for wear with the Vermont Lake Monsters of the NY-Penn League. (Carl's headline is very self-explanatory, let's just leave it at that.)
  • No one needed any reminder of what Ottawa baseball fans lost with Ed Nottle's ouster. Channeling Stephen Colbert: Thanks a lot, Nashua Telegraph.
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Zen Dayley: Travis would perfectly suit a mellow '09

Baseball America, an unimpeachable source if ever there was one, has raised the question of Travis Snider becoming a major-league regular next year at age 21, so why not run with it?

Playing in the bigs every day at age 21 is usually a harbinger of future stardom. Just look at BA's accompanying list of hitters who've done it recently. Snider should spend a month or so in Triple-A to start the season, so the Jays can delay his onset of free agency. The Brewers did that with Ryan Braun last season and the Rays did it with Evan Longoria this season, and last anyone checked, those organizations were generally regarded as being smarter than the Rogers Jays.

Snider moving up should at least be discussed. It might be the one talking point for next year, which stacks up as more of the same for the Jays.

Snider is up to a .261/.353/.461 hitting line in New Hampshire despite a slow start in his first month there. At the same age, Mets superstar David Wright hit .270/.368/.459 at a lower level in the minors -- a mere 14-point difference in OPS.

The biggest challenge would be finding a position for Snider after Godcciardi's big love-in with players it should have only fallen in like with. The Jays aren't locked down in the outfield for years to come, since Snider stands to be a better hitter than Adam Lind or Vernon Wells. (There's still hope for Alex Rios.)

Not to traffic too much in the phenomenon "renovating the restaurant you don't own, or spending the 200 million dollars you don't have," but the Jays could be showcasing the Pale One, Lyle Overbay for a trade. Overbay will have trade value in the off-season; there's always a pigeon team (hello, San Francisco Giants) out there who needs a stopgap solution at first base.

(Hell, they could unload Overbay before the end of the month.)

Errata
  • You have to laugh like hell than Francisco Liriano finally got recalled by the Twins and was lights-out in a win that moved them into first place in the AL Central. Jonah Keri has more.
  • ShysterBall has a nice obit for Braves play-by-play man Skip Caray, who died Sunday. It's important to keep in mind that back in the day, Atlanta Braves baseball was the sound of summer for a large swath of the United States -- even though "Braves baseball" was usually an oxymoron for many years before 1991.
  • Please read Poz's director's cut of a profile of Brad Ziegler, the out-of-nowhere Oakland A's sidearmer who still has a 0.00 ERA in 32 innings this season. Between the Orioles' George Sherrill and Ziegler, it's been a decent summer for former Northern Leaguers. (The Jays' Scott Richmond also pitched there.)
  • From the department of Just Sayin': The Washington Nationals have fewer victories (41) than Can-Am League's Quebec Capitales (43), whose season started seven weeks later.
  • A major glove-tap goes to Andy Grabia from The Battle of Alberta for regular updates during the World Junior baseball championship. This
  • Phillippe Aumont pitched in a simulated game yesterday; he could pitch in a game for the Mariners' Single-A team by this weekend.
Damn, the Jays

  • The Pirates say they rejected two firm offers for Jason Bay before flipping him to the Red Sox. Neither offer was from the Jays. Anyone surprised?
  • Pitching prospect Brett Cecil is going up to Syracuse for the final month of the season. He pitched Saturday in Double-A, so he should pitch later in the week.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Zen Dayley: It's the big one, or not

The smart money seems to be saying that Manny Ramirez-to-the-Marlins speculation is the real deal (so much for the rule of the thumb that you never hear anything in advance when a big trade goes down).

Canada's own Jason Bay could be going from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Red Sox in one three-team scenario. Or not. Boston has nothing to lose trading Ramirez. They were good enough to get past an injury to David Ortiz early in the season and keep pace with the Tampa Bay Rays, so who's to say that it couldn't happen again? Theo Epstein can trade the crazy clubhouse distraction and be the toast of New England if it works, or spin it to his advantage if the Sox reprise their final-third collapse of 2006.


Besides, it's Boston. It'll be just like the effort in Ottawa to make Ray Emery the scapegoat for the Senators falling apart. It's always easier to blame the guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer, especially when he truly has worn out his welcome.

Ramirez isn't the extent of Boston's problems -- about half their lineup has stopped hitting (distraction? normal fluctuation). That change because or despite a new left fielder. They're best off to pull the trigger; with their front office and revenues, writing off this season won't mean the end of their hopes of winning another World Series title in the next five years.

Meantime, Bay playing in Fenway Park? Didn't jamiecampbell tell us not so long ago that the pride of Trail, B.C., wanted to be a Blue Jay? The Rays do have a lot to offer in their farm system, and they're desperate for a lefty-masher in their lineup, so they might have more incentive.

(Jeff Passan, who seems to be fast becoming this generation's Thomas Boswell, hit one out of the park with his column from Beantown.)
Errata

  • Bless You Boys' take on the Tigers trading Iván Rodríguez, their only catcher, to the Yankees: "The Tigers better rub (Brandon) Inge with chicken bones after each game and make sure he sleeps on a cushion of dove feathers, however, because if he gets hurt again, their catching position is — how do you say — screwed."

    (It's somewhat astounding the Tigers trade a starter when they're 5 1/2 games out, while 250 miles to the east, another .500 team is acting like they still have a shot, in a better division.)
  • It's unclear what's at the root of the story about Heisman Trophy candidate Pat White saying he chose not to play baseball at college in part because the team at West Virginia doesn't have any black players. It seems like it's about a particular coach at his school, but man, is it ever sympotomatic of how baseball has turned away from African-American athletes. In another era, White would be someone's centrefielder of the future instead of leaving would-be tacklers with tube-sock tendrils trailing from their fingernails.
  • Phillippe Aumont pitched in a simulated game yesterday. Rattler Radio should have an update on the pitching prospect from Gatineau.
Damn, the Jays (but more about the Rays)

  • Here's the challenge: Watch Batting Stance Guy's imitation of various Blue Jays hitters from the past 25 years with the sound turned off and try to guess which hitters he's imitating. At the very least, it will take your mind off the fact losing 2-of-3 of the Rays removes all doubt about where the Jays are headed.

    It's incredible how well this evil genius can evoke ballplayers who played 20 years ago (although, if you're doing a cycle of Jays hitters, how do you not do Garth Iorg, who not only had the strangest name in baseball in the '80s, but probably had the strangest, wouldn't-let-a-Little-Leaguer-do-it-in-a-million-years stance?
  • Drunk Jays Fans has the takedown on Gregg Zaun for going into his little pout.
  • There's no interest in starting a vendetta with Torontoist. Mom always said, dilettantes bruise the easiest. Seriously, though, is it not irritating to see the dismissive attitude toward sports? "Still unexplained: why Tampa Bay is leading the AL East."

    God forbid the cool kids would ever little a sports nerd into their little circle if he wasn't up on whatever's current. But since you asked: The Rays' have cut their bullpen ERA from a beyond-sucktacular 6.16 last season to a downright decent 3.48, thanks to the choice to put lefty J.P. Howell and pick up righty Dan Wheeler. Their fielding has gone from porous -- they were 71 Fielding Runs Above Average in '07, meaning they basically gave the other team the equivalent of an extra run every game to among the league's best (Evan Longoria at third, Jason Bartlett at second and Akinori Iwamura at third, short and second is a vast improvement over whoever they were running out last season).

    The Rays are 8-5 since the all-star break. This is no fluke.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Zen Dayley: Teix in California headlines in...

A detour through the land of linkin' before settling in to watch Roy Halladay work...
  • The Angels aren't the best team in baseball, but they did get Mark Teixeira. No one talks about it, but Vlady Guerrero, former Expos star, former AL MVP, hasn't got it done in the post-season, so the Angels desperately needed a power bat.
  • Did anyone actually go to the Hall of Fame induction weekend? The combo of high gas prices and a lack of readily identifiable inductees made Cooperstown a ghost town. It serves them right for not voting in Tim Raines. (The Hardball Times has a hunch he'll make it by his 15th year on the ballot, 2022.)
  • Veteran baseball writer Hal McCoy is a bit crusty.
  • How does the Rays pulling a Joba and bringing up phenom David Price to be a middle reliver sound to you?
  • It's a couple days old, but the local paper in Wisconsin had a good profile on Seattle Mariners bonus baby Phillippe Aumont working to overcome his rough start in life. 

Monday, July 14, 2008

Aumont to miss Olympics

It turns out Phillippe Aumont's injury will keep him out of the Olympics. It's a damn shame -- he also didn't get to throw an inning during the Futures Game on Sunday at Yankee Stadium -- but let's keep an eye on how it unfolds for him over the last two months of the Seattle Mariners bonus baby's first pro season.

Update: And he ain't happy, as Jeff Blair related:

"And man: is he pissed off about it. Not entirely at the Mariners -- indeed, as he spoke after watching The World futures team shut out the U.S. 3-0, he seemed to start out bitter but talked himself into seeing the organization's side -- but at the whole thing in general. Especially since he said he had been told by Canadian Olympic officials that he had a roster spot before he developed inflammation.

" 'I was going to the Olympics no matter what,' said Aumont. 'That was the agreement I had with the Mariners when I signed with them."
Blair's been doing a bang-up job: "Barry Bonds' absence will reduce the need to send lawyers, guns and money."

It's the busiest day of the year for a baseball writer and he still managed to drop in a Warren Zevon reference. He's just an excitable boy.

Related:
Pitcher is elbowed out; Ill-timed injury costs Aumont Olympic berth (Bob Elliott, Sun Media)

Friday, June 27, 2008

Aumont pitching in Yankee Stadium

It's kind of a big deal: Phillippe Aumont has been selected for the Futures Game that will be played at Yankee Stadium on July 13, two days before the major-league all-star game.

Aumont's the only Canadian, but Jays prospect Scott Campbell will be joining him on the World roster. He had to shut it down for a bit, but the numbers have been very good thus far for him in the Midwest League: 2.62 earned-run average, 1.44 groundout-to-flyout ratio, 8.66 strikeouts per nine innings.

Joey Votto played in last year's game and hit a home run for the victorious World team.


Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Zen Dayley: Come not to bury Joba, but to praise him

As you were making your non-concession concession speech ...
  • Joba Chamberlain's start vs. the Blue Jays calls to mind what happens in theatre circles after a disastrous opening night. Everyone hangs around, supposed to offer sympathy and kind words, but really they're Christmas Eve -eager to see how savage the reviews are.

    That's all well and good to pile on Joba, since it's a natural reaction to how much he's been hyped. (People get on Sidney Crosby for the same reason.) Please keep in mind that it's Hank Steinbrenner who should get condemnation for using a 22-year-old pitcher with only two major-league pitches (fastball and slider) as a wedge in his battle with Yankees GM Brian Cashman. It serves him right that it backfired so spectacularly.
  • The Tao is back and throwing smoke. Awesome.
  • Jim Ed Rice seems really eager to remove all doubt as to why a lot of Red Sox fans are indifferent about him getting into the Hall of Fame.

    "I'm tired of people saying, 'Manny being Manny.' It's not like I'd take my 11-year old kid to go out and watch 'Manny being Manny,' that's not baseball. (Sunday) he hit home run 501, but, even though he hit 501 they still almost lost the game. Did you see those two plays he made out in left field? Now, do you want your kid to be 'Manny being Manny' missing those balls?"
    It's actually cool, in an age where everyone seems willing to go along to get along, that he's out there, doing the banquet circuit, slagging his former team and not expecting that comments in the Watertown, N.Y., paper will make it into wide circulation. That's old school. Rice also claimed that Jonathan Papelbon was the only member of the 2007 Red Sox who would have bumped a regular from the '75 team. It barely seems worth refuting that -- or pointing out that if Rice had run the bases right, he doesn't get thrown out at the plate in Game 6 of the '86 World Series and Bill Buckner never misses that grounder.

    Peter Gammons wrote of that play that Rice "cut the bag at third like a 16-wheeler turning into a McDonald's."
  • Phillippe Aumont, the Seattle Mariners bonus baby from Gatineau, was selected for the Midwest League all-star game yesterday. Aumont has a 1.47 ERA, a .186 opponents' average and a 41-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43 innings with Wisconsin. That's pretty good even when taking into account that's a league where no one hits for power (quoth Rany Jazayerli). Aumont went seven strong (six hits, no walks, six K's) to earn his fourth win last night. He hit a batter who has the same last name as Jeffrey Loria's stepson, probably not on purpose (but it's nice to think it was)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Zen Dayley: Bumbles in the Bronx

There's no such thing as good. There's just varying degrees of bad.

  • That Jays-Phillies six-hour marathon seems like another strike against interleague play (although Roy Halladay pitching in relief was kind of novel). Normally, the game would have been called and rescheduled.
  • There's no enjoy-it-while-it-lasts about the Yankees' nosedive (four games below .500). Cool Standings has them projected to finish 76-86, last in the AL East, with less than an 8% chance of making the playoffs.
  • Carlos Delgado still has his sense of humour even though the Mets are sucking. It's either that or Jayson Werth rubbed him the wrong way during their short time together with the Jays.

    ESPN showed the highlights from the Phillies-Blue Jays game from (Friday) night, when Jayson Werth homered in his first three at-bats, Delgado stood nearby watching. "Only one of us can hit four home runs in a game," he said. As Werth fouled out his fourth time up, Delgado said "sucker" and walked away.
  • Some events are so cataclysmic that you're stunned into a delayed reaction. But enough about Reds manager Dusty Baker asking 6-foot-6, 250-lb. slugger to Adam Dunn to bunt in the ninth inning on Saturday.

    (Dunn hit a 449-foot game-winning home run after failing to get the bunt down. Dusty Baker then told him, "Go home and tell your mom you're a flop."

    Anyone who gets the reference is getting a church built in her/his honour.)
  • The Red Sox have called up Bartolo Colón. A large gut feeling (there's no other kind when it's Bartolo) is that he's going to work out for the Bostons.
  • It is somewhat sad to have actually noticed that the Jays' Triple-A team, the Syracuse Chiefs, are leading the IL wild-card race. If the Chiefs make the playoffs, this means J.P. Ricciardi is just as adept as John Ferguson Jr. at building a winner in the minors.
  • Phillippe Aumont's pitching line yesterday in the Midwest League: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO with two wild pitches as he took the loss for Wisconsin. He's 19, it's going to happen. His ERA remains a tidy 1.07.

That's all for now.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

ZEN DAYLEY: AUMONT PUTTING UP ZEROES

As you were trying to put off talking about the Jays (no need to ask who scored the 12 tonight in Cleveland) for as long as possible ...

  • First things first: Everyone has seen Phillippe Aumont's early-season stat line in the Midwest League, right? The right-hander from Gatineau has a 0.00 ERA in a 17 2/3 innings with 20 strikeouts and a .115 opponents' batting average. It's promising for a raw 19-year-old who's young for his league even before you consider that Canadian pitchers tend to be later-blooming than Americans.

    Aumont is scheduled to pitch again on Tuesday.
  • Sam Holman might have been prescient when he sold a majority stake in the Original Maple Bat Corp. a while back. Jeff Passan's column at Yahoo! Sports about safety risks created by the maple bats -- a Pittsburgh Pirates coach took bat shrapnel in the face last month -- doesn't seem like great news for the maple bat makers (let's emphasis that this is speculative).
  • The Lehigh Valley IronPigs' matched their longest win streak, two games, by winning tonight to run their record to 7-30. A win tonight would finally get their winning percentage above the Mendoza line, which would make it OK to join a certain Facebook group without looking like a total meanie.
  • Former major-league centrefielder Doug Glanville's latest guest column in The N.Y. Times about learning to hit a curveball, it's like an allegory or something.

    "There is a constant debate among baseball hitters who deal with the question, 'If you could know what pitch was coming, would you want to know?' Since there are all kinds of tricks to figuring that out, it is a very real possibility that you can, at times, know what is coming.

    "... But do you still want to know?

    "Many players don’t. Because as the hitter, you might try to hit the ball to the moon from the excitement of knowing what's coming, and end up destroying your mechanically sound swing in the process. I guess some people would go to psychics to find out their fate; I'd rather let fate be just that — fate."
    (Via Shysterball.)
  • Joe Posnanski got off on a pretty good rant about the intentional walk the other day.

RIGHT, THE JAYS

  • Captain Sarcastic would like to point out the recent events refute the constant refrain that the Blue Jays have no plan.

    GM J.P. Ricciardi went out and signed Marco Scutaro in the winter since he obviously had an inkling that the Nos. 1 and 1-A shortstops would get hurt in the same game -- in successive innings to boot -- and go on the disabled list. He also picked up extra outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench just hours before Vernon Wells got hurt making a diving catch and was lost until the all-star break. That's the equivalent of not only correctly calling a home run on the next pitch, but predicting what row it landed in.
  • John Gibbons not having a reliever ready on Friday night in the bottom of the seventh inning -- when a tiring Roy Halladay let the first four Clevelands reach base in an eventual six-run inning -- ranked with some of Dusty Baker's greatest hits. That's not good.

    (It's not for nothing that someone once put out a book of baseball anecdotes entitled When In Doubt, Fire The Manager.)
  • Travis Snider, the Jays' uber-prospect, did homer tonight for New Hampshire. (He's hitting .159/.321/.317 at Double-A, but it's bound to pick up.)

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

Sunday, April 13, 2008

JAYS: B.J. RYAN HITS THE TEXAS RANGERS ON A GUT LEVEL

The daily baseball post... how about the Jays sweeping the Rangers.
  • All those sacrifice bunt fetishists who have been the bane of Mike Wilner's existence got their way, for one day. The Jays bunted to set up the tying and go-ahead sac flies today.

    Of course, the Rangers also failed to bring in a runner from third with none out vs. B.J. Ryan in the 10th inning. It's not automatic when a runner gets to third with less than two out.
  • The Hardball Times' weekly team rankings have two AL East teams in the fifth and seventh slots. Hint: Neither one is the Red Sox or Yankees. Hint No. 2: Their nicknames rhyme with "pays."
  • Left-hander David Purcey's pitching line at Syracuse: Seven innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, seven strikeouts to get the W for the Chiefs.
  • Maury Brown of the Business of Sports Network and his wife have recently learned their son is autistic. It seems best to pass that along, if anyone's interested in sending support or donating.
  • Those who want to keep tabs on Mariners bonus baby Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau might want to bookmark rattler-radio.blogspot.com, the blog of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers play-by-play man Chris Mehring. Aumont had four strikeouts in as many innings and didn't allow a hit in his pro debut for Wisconsin.

    Minor League Ball touched on Aumont during a Q&A on Friday. It noted Aumont's progress with his changeup should be the determining factor in whether he becomes a starter or a closer.
  • Fire Joe Morgan either has a huge Canadian following which sends in links or the Toronto media just makes it that easy. Poor Jim Lang of Sportsnet was the latest to be on the wrong end of a takedown for his, "I have had it with Moneyball; give me good old Whitey Herzog baseball any day," iCab post the other day.

    Short of confronting Lang and presenting him with Whitey Herzog a la Marshall McLuhan in Annie Hall -- "I heard what you've been saying -- you know nothing of my work," spending 10 minutes at baseball-reference.com had to suffice.

    Granted, people remember the 1980 St. Louis Cardinals playing small ball, but it doesn't hold up. Whitey Herzog became the Cardinals manager in mid-1980s. The Cards led the National League in on-base percentage that season but were second-last in walks -- and finished 14 games below .500.

    The next season, 1981, the Cards were second in OBP, jumped to second in walks and had the best record in the NL East. In 1982, they were first in OBP, second in walks and won the World Series. In '85 and '87 they were first in both categories, won the pennant and went all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. They were known for stealing bases, but they draw a lot of walks too.

    If Lang believes the 1980s Cardinals won pennants by dropping down sacrifice bunts, then to quote the title of Herzog's memoir, he's been missing a great game.

    Oh, and back in 1961 the Baltimore Orioles had a part-time outfielder who had two sac bunts all season and was 1-for-5 on stolen bases, but drew a lot of walks and put up a .387 OBP. His name? Whitey Herzog.

    Granted, those are just statistics generated from a website.

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