Bastian's Midseason Awards
TORONTO — Anyone catch that Home Run Derby last night? Congrats to the Canadian Justin Morneau on taking the crown, but no one will remember that aspect. Everyone will remember the show that Josh Hamilton put on, putting some last-minute dents in Yankee Stadium before it closes its doors for good.
Seeing Hamilton rip baseballs off the billboards beyond the right-field bleachers and peppering the third deck with 500-foot bombs was a blast — 28 in the first round? Are you kidding me? And none were cheapos either. That was a joy to watch, even if I was in my living room in Toronto and not at The Stadium.
Mrs. Bastian is working tonight, so I’m planning on taking a break for the health kick I’m on by ordering a pizza and watching the All-Star Game. I will say that I believe BoSox manager Terry Francona made the wrong choice for the American League starter, going with Cliff Lee over Roy Halladay. But I digress…
As promised, I’m going to roll out my midseason award winners. Here we go:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Josh Hamilton, Texas
COMMENT: Call me a sucker for a great storyline. There’s certainly a case to be made for Kinsler (.419 with runners in scoring position), or even Texas teammate Milton Bradley, but Hamilton’s 21 homers and 95 RBIs before the break seem too hard to ignore. To return from the depths that Hamilton has is amazing, and what he’s doing on a baseball field is simply icing on the cake.
APOLOGIES TO: Ian Kinsler (TEX), Alex Rodriguez (NYY), Jermaine Dye (CWS)
CY YOUNG AWARD: Roy Halladay, Toronto
COMMENT: Logging nearly 150 innings and spinning seven complete games and two shutouts before the break is ridiculous these days, when six innings and three earned runs are considered to be a “quality” start. Doc’s ERA is only a touch above Lee’s and, for not being much of a strikeout pitcher, Halladay nearly leads the league. Throw in just 21 walks and I just can’t see why he isn’t starting the All-Star Game.
APOLOGIES TO: Cliff Lee (CLE), Joe Saunders (LAA), Justin Duchscherer (OAK)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay
COMMENT: Longoria didn’t make the Rays’ roster out of Spring Training, but since being summoned from a brief stay in the Minors, he’s emerged as the elite rookie in this year’s class. Longoria, with his 16 homers and 53 RBIs at the break, is the face of Tampa Bay’s unbelievable first half. It says something when Tampa Bay signed him to an extension before he barely had his feet wet in the bigs.
APOLOGIES TO: Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS), Nick Blackburn (MIN), David Murphy (TEX)
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay
COMMENT: So they ended the first half with a seven-game skid? Did you think the Rays were going to go all season without a losing streak? Finishing second in the AL East to the reigning World Series champ Red Sox is accomplishment enough for a Rays squad that resided in the cellar a year ago. The question is whether Maddon can leads his troops to an unlikely October appearance.
APOLOGIES TO: Ron Gardenhire, Ozzie Guillen, Mike Scioscia
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Lance Berkman, Houston
COMMENT: This was by far the most difficult pick for me. There’s a strong case to be made for Utley’s season for first-place Philly, Jones’ quest for a .400 average and for what Pujols is still doing for a St. Louis team that was left for dead in the preseason polls. Shoot, I hate to even leave Hanley Ramirez off the list. But, strictly poring over the statistics, I can’t go against Berkman (.347/.443/.653, 22 HR, 30 2B, 73 RBIs, 56 BB vs. 61 K, 15 SB, 79 R).
APOLOGIES TO: Chase Utley (PHI), Chipper Jones (ATL), Albert Pujols (STL)
CY YOUNG AWARD: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
COMMENT: I know, how good would that Alex Rios for Lincecum trade look right now for the Jays? Well, really, who knows with how Toronto’s staff hasn’t received much run support? Then again, Lincecum has gone 11-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 135 strikeouts against 47 walks for a Giants club that has actually scored fewer runs than the Blue Jays this season. That, to me, makes Lincecum the first-half Cy over the others.
APOLOGIES TO: Brandon Webb (ARI), Edinson Volquez (CIN), Ben Sheets (MIL)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Geovany Soto, Chicago
COMMENT: Besides absolutely raking for my fantasy team — the South Side Spartans — Soto has been stellar (16 HR, 56 RBIs, .891 OPS) for the Cubbies. Growing up in Chicago, catcher always seemed to a trouble spot for the North Siders (Todd Hundley anyone?). It doesn’t appear to be that way anymore with Soto, who has been instrumental in the Cubs’ quest to shed that 100-years-with-no-World-Series label. And I’ll always pick a “true” rookie like Soto over someone like Fukudome.
APOLOGIES TO: Kosuke Fukudome (CHC), Jair Jurrjens (ATL), Joey Votto (CIN)
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Tony LaRussa, St. Louis
COMMENT: When it’s all said and done, this honor might fall to Yost, whose Brewers could have a huge second half with C.C. Sabathia and Sheets heading their rotation. For now, the story of the NL Central has been the Cardinals — not the Cubs. Even I had the Cards finishing fifth in the division. It’ll be interesting to see who wins the three-team race between the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals down the stretch. As good as the Cubs have been, this could go down to the wire.
APOLOGIES TO: Lou Piniella (CHC), Fredi Gonzalez (FLA), Ned Yost (MIL)
(For what it’s worth, my preseason picks for these awards also included Halladay, Maddon and Soto for their respective accolades. Of course, I did pick Toronto, Cleveland and Seattle to each finish second in their respective divisions, too.)
Major League Bastian 
Jordan, I’m not sure we’ve ever seen such a display of home run power like that before. I think the rules need to be changed for the home run derby. Hamilton, in retrospect, made a mistake in hitting so many in the first round. He had nothing left for the final and neither did his pitcher. I felt sorry for the guy-71 years old and tossing 70+ pitches. lol.
Although it was nice to see a Canadian win the derby, it was a bittersweet win, because of Hamilton’s display. I’m sure even Morneau didn’t feel he won.
Maybe they should go to a total aggregate of hr’s hit, because if they don’t guys will be backing of in the early rounds in the future to save energy for the final and we won’t see such a show again.
I agree with picking Hamilton as MVP. His RISP isn’t all that shabby at
.336 risp
.352 risp/2 outs
.444 bases loaded.
Morneau will be rememberd by all Canadian fans,Just because Hamilton played the showoff and wound up loosing you can’t take away the fact that Morneau won fair and square.The only way Morneau will not be rememberd is beacuse of the brain dead American sports writers who are jealous that a Canadian won.Also the Canadian is not on ROIDS.
Garry,
I don’t think it has to do with Morneau being a native of Canada. Back in 1999 when the All Star Game was at Fenway, Mark McGwire put on a show, not quite like Hamilton. Hamilton is a great story and who isn’t rooting for the guy? Mourneau did win fair and square but Hamilton stole the show. Hamilton used all his energy early.
I don’t see how the A.L. can lose one tonight. If thought Halladay should be starting out there tonight. Then again Lee has been superb, can’t go wrong either way.
Being a Jays fan I would have liked to see Halliday start but????,The only thing is I hope he gets a chance to go 2inn.
too late 1 inning job…francona just hates us
How do you like that Francona lol.
Garry
As much as I like Halliday, Lee deserved the start. He’s 12-2 with an era of 2.31 and Halliday is 11-6 with an era of 2.71.
Nice inning from Halliday, 9 pitches and he’s outta there.
Garry/Bosox
I don’t know about you guys, but I thought both A-Rod and Giambi were ***** because they didn’t participate in the HR derby. These guys make huge amounts of money in this game and get an opportunity to give something back-in this case to their own fans. And pass. Pathetic.
Gsumner,
Giambi wasn’t an all star so he couldn’t take part in the H.R. Derby. A-Rod should have participated, he should be ashamed of himself.
Giambi was a roid freak and A-Rod has no class.
Bosox
Apparently, Giambi was asked by the commissioners office to partake because of A-Rod’s no-show and the fact it was an historic event in Yankee stadium. Both of these guys declined the opportunity and should be ashamed-particulary A-Rod.
Francona is a class act. I’m pleased he only used Holliday for 1 inning. He could easily have left him out there for 2-3 but knowing how important Halliday is to us, Francono did the right thing and only used him for 1. He does “play the game” the right way.
Stray Rod is a loser plain and simple. If I was a pitcher I would put one in his ear every time he came to the plate. Then when he finally charged the mound after Madonna told him he should stick up for himself, I would drop him on his ***. For a man with so much talent he sure has no class. He is an ego maniac with the personality of a fish. One word sums him up…. CLOWN
matty39.
Kujos to you no one could have said it better.
In this world what goes around comes around Stray Rod will get his and I hope it’s a bad one,I love baseball and the players but I hate stray rod,This beast loves only himself and maybe Jeter.LOL.
What did everyone think of the alstar game and did anyone notice Rivera showing Halliday how to throw his one and only pitch,Can you imagine The Doc adding that pitch to his arsenal WOW.
Hi Guys,
From what I can determine from other internet sites, there is little to no interest in Burnett. Does anyone know more?
Is Jermaine Dye ever having a great year. I would have liked to have seen him get the All Star nod over Quentin.
Nice to see him in your MVP consideration Jordan, and Doc has to be the favorite for the Cy Young this year, it looks like he is ready to really turn it up.
burt check out MLB trade rumors scroll down on right side.
I loved seeing Doc and Mariano talking with each other about – I’m assuming the cutter. Doc already has a very good cutter that he uses but has had forearm problems in the past due to his cutter. Doc’s pitch seems to have a slight downward tilt – kinda like a slider but harder with less break, whereas Mariano’s cutter seems to keep it’s plane with no downward tile – it almost seems to rise. I’m sure Doc was asking how Mariano keeps his flat and how he throws it to avoid arm problems. It just goes to show how hard Doc works… He is one of the best in the game and is still trying to gather as much information as possible. He said himself that you have to keep evolving as a player or the league will figure you out.
It looks like no team wants Burnett,But if he pitches like his last start I would like to see us keep him and if he opts out big deal we still get two first round draft picks.
I just read in trade rumors where Godfry said that Halliday is the frachise player and he will not trade him.Also Doc says he wants to stay here.
Garry-that’s exactly the reason both Godfrey and JP have to go before anything is really going to change. We hung on to a lot of Maple Leaf Players over the last 40 years and haven’t won yet.
What do you guys think about moving Inglett to short stop? I for one would prefer more power at that position, but I think it might be a decent idea.
I am a montreal canadians fan just hate the leafs,but both teams are in a rut.
As for Halliday we will never agree on him so let’s put it to bed.
I would like to see Hill at short and Inglett at second if he comes back,I was hoping they would trade Burnett for a good shortstop but it looks like nobody wants him.
I agree with gsumner regarding Doc. Imagine what we could get back in return? The most sane thing that Toronto could do is offer Doc to Tampa for their top 4 prospects. Tampa is loaded with talent that could turn this team around in 2-3 years. Unfortunately, Godfrey is interested in putting “bums in seats” not winning teams on the field.
Until the upper management discover that it is not “star players” that fill the seats, but “great teams” we are going to be finishing 4th or 5th in the division. This is the time to make a bold move, and turn the direction of this team around in a hurry. Goodbye Mats, goodbye Doc. Hello bright future!
I think Scott Campbell at AA New Hampshire deserves a serious look at second. He’s hit in the leadoff position all year, is currently batting .332ba/.422obp and was selected to the AA All-Star team. If he is as good as his record shows, moving Hill to SS with Campbell at 2nd might be a viable option.
Burt-unfortunately, I think we’re hung with no bold moves. Godfrey and JP just want to keep their jobs. Hello, Maple Leafs 2. Tampa Bays top 4 prospects could probably play here right now-example David Price.
Burt, first of all I am tottaly against trading Halladay. And I highly dout that Tampa will trade for him. They already have Kazmir, Sheilds, and Garza. They don’t need Halladay. And they wouldnt trade us good prospects, after all we are in the same division with them. I think if we trade the best pitcher in the game for a few prospects would be extremely stupid on our part.
They won’t and shouldn’t trade Halliday. If Godfrey considers him “his franchise player” then remove his salary from the books, pretend it is not even there. I’m sure Teddy has enough dough to pay Halliday himself. If they will never move Halliday and are commited to winning, prove it and spend money! That would free up 20mil (market price for Halliday not actual salary) that can go towards a slugger (Texiera) then we could trade Overbay and a prospect for a short stop who can hit.
All this team needs is a good slugger and a shortstop who can hit and hit for power like matty39 said.
As for trading for prospects not with JP we will lose good players and get losers in exchange like we always do.
If JP had done his job we would have plenty of good prospect in the minors now instead of a handfull.
Guys:
We have to think in a sober fashion here. Tampa has a great team right now. Its prospects are so good, they could contend for the next 10 years. Boston and New York will always be contenders. How are we going to realistically finish above 4th place in the division? Saying that we need a hitter here and there and a short-stop won’t cut it. I agree we need these peices. However, Tampa, due to its own incompetance is indirectly on the verge of building a dynasty, perhaps like Atlanta. They have not done it yet, but the peices are all there. We don’t have the peices in place to compete. Doc must go, as hard as it is to say. I love the Jays and have watched them for year, but I have seen enough baseball to know that this franchaise is in long-term trouble. Our players are good, but not good enough. If you don’t want to trade talent to get talent, how do you propose to obtain the type of up-and-coming prospects we need to be competitive over the long-haul?
Tampa built their team from making solid draft picks not from trades or free agent signings . The Red Sox have a good farm system , coupled with generally good free agent signings and trades , have made them the team we see today. The Jays have not accomplished any of this . A lot of teams will not trade their good farm system for a player, look at both the Yanks and Sox wanting Santana but not willing to deal the farm to get him . The same would happen with Doc. A great team needs veterans as well as young players . Tampa is a great team , as were the Rockies last year and the Marlins a few years before that . Will Tampa have the stamina to go the distance , nobody can be sure but the Jays giving up the one stable veteran pitcher they have for 3-4 unproven rookies just makes no sense . We should have been building a great team with the help of a great farm system. Baseball is a business, its entertainment and meant to make money so they need to put those “bums” in the dome’s seats.
My take is, we have a decision to make both us as fans and also the owners of The Jays. What we do know is this team is not capable of contending. It wasn’t this year or last year and it won’t be next year either.
So the question we should all be asking ourself is are we happy just watching our favorite players we know, have reasonable attendance and break even each year and live with a 3rd or 4th place finish or do we seriously want to contend and win another world series?
The Maple Leafs had the same question and chose to stay the course, keep Matts Sundin and others and wallow in the standings and not win for the last 40 years.
If we’re happy with this approach, then we should keep Halliday, Ryan, Burnett and others and try to add a short stop and new DH with power over the winter and try to maintain our 3rd or 4th place finish.
But remember, Burt is right about Tampa Bays prospects, they’re very deep and will contend for years as will Boston and NY.
On the other hand, if we do want to win again, we need to dismantle this team, load up on A and B+ prospects in the AA and AAA level; bring the best ones up, play them and try to contend 2-3 years from now.
Those are our two choices.
I am not saying don’ t trade the others but I do believe there are a few that the Jays shouldn’t trade and for me , Halladay is on the do NOT trade list . There are no guarantees in baseball just like there are no guarantees in life , except death and taxes….lol….
Halladay might very well be the Jay’s Tim Wakefield and pitch well into his 40s . Doc may not throw the knuckleball but every year he reinvents himself and every year comes out ready to win . There are very few pitchers in the big leagues today with his mentality . He goes into a game with the mindset to finish what he started . In business you don’t get rid of your most productive worker, why get rid of the Jay’s most productive worker . He gives great value and return on the dollar .
Indigo-the blunt reality is that Halliday has been here 11 years and we haven’t won anything. So the question is do you want to win or are you happy finishing 3rd or 4th each year? I’d like to see us win another world series and contend each year.
Tampa Bay got all the depth in prospects by drafting AND by trading guys for high quality prospects. Now their farm system is stacked. You can’t do it from the draft alone because you only get one first rounder per year. Right now, if we finish exactly how we sit today, we’d be drafting in 11th place-which might or might not deliver a MLB capable player with a high ceiling.
Halliday, Ryan and Burnett could be turned into 7-9 high quality A or B+ prospects. Of course, not all of these would impact the team here, but some would and when combined with our own, our minor league system would be loaded and continually provide players for quite some time.
As these prospects mature and grow at the MLB level, the final one or two guys could be added by free agency to put us over the top. That’s how we won two championships before and in our division facing the Yanks and Sox, likely the only way we’ll ever win again.
It’s not by hanging on to guys, because we like them. Right now Halliday’s value is better than it’s ever going to be. He’s the class of the AL on a low cost contract. Every team in baseball will try to get him, and Tampa Bay will try the hardest to get both Halliday and Ryan, because these two guys could put them into the world series.
Now is the time to trade him, just like 2006 or winter of 2007 was the time to trade Johnson-when his value was the highest. Instead, we simply gave Johnson his release and got nothing in return.
So the question is, do you want to win?
It is pretty obvious that the Jays need to do something to make it to the next level, and a rebuilding process is certainly one of the steps that they could take. However from reading some comments it seems that some people aren’t fans of this because they picture trading every player that has a value. If the Jays go and trade players like Halladay, Burnett, Rolen, Overybay, Eckstien etc, they could get a great bunch of prospects to bring up around players like Hill, Rios, Lind, possibly wells that are a solid core of players. That isn’t taking into consideration all the young pitchers that we have right now. I watched highlights from the AAA allstar game and it immediatly stood out that every pitch that Purcey threw was 97+ mph. Marcum and McGowan are also proving that they could be top of the rotation starters in the future. I think that this is a solid core of young players that are only getting better, and the Jays should consider trading the aging players to serious contenders like Tampa before the Jays wear out their worth by holding on to them and finishing 3rd and 4th every years.
Also, I couldn’t help but comment on the Yanks gettin Richie Sexson which i think is a complete steal. Aside from his stats over the past to years which have been brutal, he is supposed to be a hard hitting first basemen, and the Yankees are only paying $390,000 of his 14 million dollar salary. If he somehow gets out of this ridiculous slump, this will turn out to be quite the snag.
I agree with mac regarding Sexson. Somehow becoming a Yankee seems to elevate the play of slumping, but talented players. I don’t know if the same can be said about Toronto. With regards to gsumners comments and others, I would like to hear the Nay-Sayers regarding the trading of Doc (and others) present another plan for improving the quality of this team, other than the tried and failed method of signing old free agents that we have been living with for the past 7-10 years. Perhaps gsumner is correct when he suggests that there are some Jays fans who are simply interested in seeing their favourite player, not in seeing a winning team. If this is not the case, please explain to the rest of us how this team can be substantially improved without giving up its assets. Obviously, you must know something that Oakland and others do not know, as they are ALWAYS in the PROCESS of trading their stars and re-tooling for the future. Hence, easier division aside, they will be in the post-season before the Jays.
bmacgregor-my problem with Sexton is his hitting with risp at a measly .123, a slide from last year and a huge slide from 3 years ago. I’m just not convinced it’s a slump, but you’re right there’s not a lot of money invested.
Jays trade everyone right now . Are you willing to wait the 4 or 5 years it will take to develop that talent before the Jays can contend, not to mention of all those rookies you are lucky if 50% make it to the majors and produce. Remember in that 4-5 years Hill, Rios , Wells etc are all now 4-5 years older and around the same age as Doc is now so do we trade them now to get younger again . I never said to not to trade Ryan, Burnett etc but remember they have salaries the Jays can’t afford to carry on their payroll. I am talking strictly Halladay here . You need a veteran presence in a ballclub . I don’t think there is any better veteran player to help this team than Halladay , plus he is inexpensive . I never said go sign more downhill veterans , thats exactly what the leafs have done and yes they haven’t contended for over 40 years . I am sure numerous teams would love to have a pitcher who goes the whole 9 innings time and time again . You also have to remember every team thinks their player is worth more and they won’t want to give up their farm system for 1 pitcher….Santana proved that point. I would trade McGowan before Halladay. I think McG has great stuff but he struggles with control and he reminds me of a younger version of Burnett . To put it bluntly , of course I would love to see this team win but i still believe Doc is a huge part of that winning team
Is Halladay the best pictcher in the league? prolly.
If thats so why trade him and take a risk on a prospect that will probably never be the best pitcher in the game?
Isn’t it better to keep the best pitcher and because of the way halladay pitches its going to be much the same when he is 37 or 35 or 32.
Halladay made his pitching debut as a starter Sept 20th 1998 so he is in his 10th year . Every team wants to win , every fan wants their team to win , Jays fans are no different . A team needs to have a foundation and build from there , I believe Halladay is a part of that foundation . Unfortunately the GM has not utilized that foundation and built a solid team . He has not drafted well or spent money well . Until this team has a management that has a viable plan , it will never go anywhere . Halladay isn’t part of the problem but he is part of the solution.
Yes I am willing to wait 4 or 5 years to contend, because at the end of those 4 or 5 years we WILL BE CONTENDERS. The way we are going, there is no reason to believe that we will ever contend. Our problem is that not only do we not want Burnett (wait for the Tampa meltdown 2nite), no one else wants him; or, at least no one wants to part with young talent to get him (I wonder why that is?). Ryan is intriguing. I imagine that more than one contender might be interested in Ryan, but given that Jays fans actually wake up and shout when he comes in in the 9th, Godfrey will not allow him to be traded. No one wants any of our other players, especially Wells and Rios. Perhaps we can move our third baseman who just arrived, but the return will be slim. We are stuck. Stuck with a crappy line up. Stuck with a crappy GM. Stuck with a crappy president. Who cares if you have the best pitcher in baseball (which Doc is not) if your nothing more than a .500 team. Why do you think that the american media pays no attention to the Jays. Even with Doc they know that there is no story in Toronto except the same old story…get out the golf clubs, see you next spring training!
Gsumner,
What do you want for Halladay? Halladay will probably pitch until he is 40. He is one of my favorite pitchers, he doesn’t mess around out there. If he was in Boston or N.Y. he would be a household name. Give me a trade proposal, your J.P. ( sorry ) and I am Theo. lol.
I will not give you Ellsbury, just to let you know. Lester and ????? That is a good start right there, don’t you think? Buchholz?????? Lester and Buchholz wouldn’t be in the same package, just to let you know. lol. This is funny, don’t you think?
Nobody is interested in Burnett because of his injury record and his contract . Jays can’t afford to carry him while he plays for another team ( don’t forget Jays are paying Thomas salary while he plays for Oakland ) Why would a team rent a player like Burnett for a few months ? Nobody is going to give up good talent to do that . How do you know in 4 or5 years Jays will be contenders ? What happens if your new rookies don’t pan out ? You even said Sox will be better ,along with Yanks and Rays maybe the Orioles will also. Whether you want to hear it or not, this is the toughest division in baseball and there are no guarantees. I often think the Jays would fair better in the NL
When Canada had 2 teams , they both flew under the American media radar . Baseball is considered the American sport not the Canadian one , there are 29 American teams to cover so why look north
This is all a moot point since Halladay wants to stay in TO and his contract isn’t up until 2010 .
Brian,
Jays will give you Halladay for the entire red sox team…..lol
The notion of trading the best pitcher in baseball to get a few prospects is, in my opinion, ridiculous. Seriously… Who are you gonna get in return that is better than Halladay. The OF, 2B, and starting rotation is already set for years. With the Yanks and BoSox payroll, there is never any guarantee that you will contend in 5 years with a bunch of unproven prospects coming up in the ranks. The Yanks and BoSox can turn around and sign proven stars to counter any “prospects” that we might bring up through the system.
I wouldn’t use the Tampa Bay example either. They’ve been in the cellar for the last 15 years (who would want that), and they may very well finish in 4th in the AL East this year, next year and for many more years to come. It’s still early…
Halladay is the kind of guy you build around. With his work ethic, he could be one of the best pitchers in baseball for another 10 years or so. We are priviliged to have him here. He wants to be here to bring a championship to Toronto, let him do it, and give him the tools to succeed.
For the Jays, the future is now, or at least soon. Next year, the Jays will be freed up of Zaun’s, Eckstein’s, Burnett’s, and Thomas’ salary dollars. With that money, and probably a little extra, they need to address the DH, 1B and SS situation and probably add another middle of the rotation guy.
Aside from that, they’re pretty solid, and might even have a shot this year.
That being said, if the Jays are still not in the playoff picture by the 2010 All-Star break, it might be time to start looking at this stuff. Until then, in my mind, no way.
Indigo-the point you’re missing is, we’re in last place. We haven’t contended for 15 years, we’re not going to contend this year or next, so regardless of how much you love any of the players-it simply isn’t working..
There’s nothing wrong with a foundation of Hill, Rios, Lind, Accardo, Jannsen, Marcum, McGowan and Litsch-soon followed with Diaz, Arenciba, Cecil, Purcey and Snider. I am not disagreeing with your assessment of Jays management, frankly JP is really disapointing in that he learned from Billy Bean and I thought he learned from him and would have turned this team over last year.
I doubt very much if JP will make the changes we need-to do so would admit failure, so I doubt if any of these guys get traded. Unfortunately, we’re hung with mediocrity and all we can hope for is .500 performance. Pathetic.
By the way, you are right about Baltimore, they started the surgury needed last year-so it is likely our current position of last place becomes home for a while.
Bosox
Not trying to insult you, lol, but I don’t think Boston has enough of what we need. Sure, I’d want Lowrie and Lester, but your AA + AAA group offers little in terms of high ceiling guys that would fit our needs and Lowrie and Lester aren’t enough for Halliday.
When I first proposed trading Halliday it was to Tampa Bay for David Price, Evan Longoria and Player TBN. Before I proposed that trade I also wanted to offer Burnett and either Tallet or Carlson to Milwuakee for Escobar and Gamel from their AA affiliate.
Rene-the problem is, they’ve been “pretty solid” for the last 15 years and haven’t been in the playoffs. We can be pretty solid for another 15 years and stick around the .500 area year after year.
But if we do, we should change the name from the Toronto Blue Jays to The Toronto Groundhogs-it’d be more appropriate. lol
Well forget about Burnett going to the Phillies, they just picked up Blanton for 3 minor leaguers. Blanton is doing really bad this year so it’s no surprise that they went after Burnett first.
Yankees just picked up Sexson. I wonder how he is going to work out. For our sake I hope he really does bad.
By the way guys, I do not think that any fan should feel priviledged to have any professional athlete playing on his or her favourite team, and that includes DOC. He should feel priviledged that we, the fans, have made it possible for him to become wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, while playing a game we all love.
Halliday will get a new contract at the end of the season for sure, for at least five more years, so he will be here until 2015.
The mistake the Jays made was to sign Wells to such a big contract,Any team with a 100mil payroll can’t afford to pay one player that much money,If wells was traded before they gave him all that money they could have traded him for prospects.
They let Thomas go right around the time he would have started to hit now they are paying him for nothing,I know he is hurt now but maybe not if he stayed.
JP worked for billy bean and guess who picked up Thomas for nothing I smell a skunk and so should Rogers.
If Rogers dosen’t wake up soon and make some changes The Jays will never make the playoffs,
In 92-93 the Jays had one of if not the biggest payrolls in the Majors,They could afford to buy any player they wanted then,and lets not forget they had brains upstairs and that my friends never hurts.
Get used to Doc. he is staying.
The only reason why the Jays have been fun to watch over the past 8 losing seasons, is Doc Halladay. He truly is the best picther in the game and, no doubt, if he played for the Yankee or Red Sox people would be calling him a pitching god.
A good trade for Halladay would entail many number #1 pick type prospects and even if we get one that really promising, it won’t be worth it. Hard to replace one of the best pitchers in the league. If Jays are going to build from the bottom up, we have to suffer in last place, like Tampa did for all those years and draft #1, #2, #3 picks. Upton, Longoria, Garza (who was traded for a #1) are there only guys. Tampa has a couple of veterns having baffling career year i.e. Eric Hinske, Troy Percival. Smoke in mirrors, they will fall off this half.
We need a team that drafts well and J.P. just hasn’t got it done, until recently the Jays have been rated to have had some good drafts.
Blanton trade to Philly. Looks like these are the prospects that we turned down for Burnett. Good because I would have wanted Marson, or Golston anyways.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgE4FADvcUZtsK12roYLqu85nYcB?slug=ap-phillies-athleticstrade&prov=ap&type=lgns
Agreed… The Jays haven’t done anything in 15 years. But wouldn’t it take a whole lot in return from a Halladay trade to make the Jays better, both in the short and long term.
And yes, professional athletes are privileged, but that’s no fault of their own. However as fans, I think we’re lucky (not privileged) to be able to watch and root for an athlete like Halladay every week. A guy like that doesn’t come around that often, and it’d be a shame to let him go.
But hey, just my opinion folks.
I am not missing any point and we are in 4th not last place unless 10 ( Baltimore ) comes before 9 now……lol…. I understand what you are saying , I just don’t agree with your wanting to trade Halladay .
Gsumner,
Apparently you don’t know much about Boston’s farm system. Have you seen some of there talent that has played in the last 3 years or so? Boston has plenty to get Halladay but Toronto would NEVER deal him within the division. T.B. would NEVER give you Price and Longoria for Halladay. Perhaps Halladay could end up with the Dodgers, if he was ever dealt. I personally think Boston will hold onto there talented minor leaguers and make a push for Matt Holiday during the winter. I don’t think Boston will pickup Ramirez’s option. Of course alot can change as we know.
Burnett will be difficult to deal because of his no trade clause to 15 teams. If I had to take a guess I would say Burnett will end up in St. Louis. Cardinals had alot of interest in Burnett when he was a free agent. Of course the Jays gave him the 5th year and Burnett said where do I sign. You can’t blame him, blame goes to J.P. I’m sure most Jays fans have gone over that many times.
The GOOD NEWS of the day
Shaun Marcum went 4 innings in Dunedin tonight. He gave up no hits, no bb’s and struck out 6. Should be back soon.
Our first round draftee David Cooper is liking Lansing more than he liked Auburn, and is not hitting .345. In 29 games as a pro, he’s hit 12 doubles, 2 hr’s, 24 rbi’s and has an OBP of over .400. There are some other nice bats on this team, Jaspe (.364BA) and our young friend from Mississauga-Baksh at .375BA. I’d expect they start moving some of these kids up soon.
Bosox-the question is, if TB would give us Price and Longoria for Halliday-would you do the deal-I would.
You misunderstand what I meant on your minor league system. We’re in need of a short stop and a 1st and 3rd baseman with power. You have the short stop I’d trade for but not the other two and we are ok in outfielder, catcher and pitching prospects. Hey, maybe we should be offerin g you Wells instead. lol
Burnett would wave his no trade in a minute to get out of here to a contender.
Gsumner,
I would do the deal for sure if T.B. included those two. You will not get a better package than that. Longoria is
Lars Anderson is a power hitting first baseman in the Sox system. He’ll be with the big club in 2 years or so.
A few more hits with runners in scoring position, and this would be a very different discussion. The Jays screwed up in California and it deflated them. They should have won three in Seattle. I don’t want to trade doc or AJ or Johnny Mac but please yes on Wells and Overbay….this second half just might be fun.
Am I the only women on this blog?
So what some of you are saying is, that the Jays haven’t “contended” in 15 years but you want to wait another 5 if we dismantled this team? Just stop and think for a moment…….. We are in the AL EAST! If we completely rebuilt, and that would include trading Doc we would get our butts handed to us in this division. Gsumner wants to bring up our best AA and AAA players to play against the Red Sox and Yankees! Sorry, but can you say 110 losses. In 5 years there would be no one watching this team and once the prospects become decent we wouldn`t be able to afford them. What is wrong with building (NOW) around Doc, Marcum, Magowan, Hill, Wells, Rios, Snider/Lind, our minor league catchers and Rolen? Not to mention pitchers like Purcey and Cecil coming quick, plus our excellent bull pen. That means all we need is a flippin slugger, **** who can hit (yes, i`ve said this a few times) and maybe a first basemen.
In my opinion this team isn`t that far off from being good. So why tear it up? I would rather win 85 – 90 games with the potential for 95 over blowing up this team and being terrible for many seasons.
We should just trade everyone, finish in last for 15 years and get first round draft picks, that`s how you build a winner. Hahaha
tanandmur.
You are not the only woman on this blog Indigo is also a woman and I’m not sure about hemgold who we have not heard from for a while.Glad to see more woman posting here.As indigo has proven manny times some woman know more than most of us guys about baseball.
I’m with matty39 we have all the tools now we just need a slugger and a shortstop who can hit and a new GM who wants to win instead of giving big money to hasbeens with a big name so he will look good and they never work out.
sorry hemgold LOL.
Bosox-would you do me a favor and provide some explanation and insight as to why you would trade Halliday to Tampa Bay for Price and Longoria. Also maybe include your feeling of how good these two guys are and will be.
I’m not sure about Anderson, he still lokks like a bit of a long shot to me and he isnt all that far ahead of our guy Cooper to get excited about.
rmatty
Do you have a problem reading or do you just like to state stuff that isn’t true. I did not say dismantle the Jays. In fact there’s only two differences in between our opinions of guys to keep which are Rolen and Halliday.
My proposal was to trade Halliday to TB for Longoria and Price. Longoria is likely going to be the best 3rd baseman in baseball over he next 10 years and is an all-star this year. Check out his performance so far this year and compare it to Rolen’s. If we got him, why in hell would you want to keep Rolen?
You should also do yourself a favor and check out David Price. He is likely going to be the next “best pitcher in baseball” in a couple of years. He’s a 6’6″ LHander who really brings it.
I do agree with Bosox, in that its unlikely TB would do the deal, but even if we had to throw in a LH reliever-which they’re looking for it would be worth it.
Price would be the stud in a rotation including McGowan, Marcum, Purcey and Cecil and give us 3 power left handers to go against Boston and NY-two teams who don’t like hitting against LH’s. I would take that rotation in this division all day long.
In case you haven’t noticed, Oakland has now traded their entire starting staff from two years ago, because management made a decision to rebuild their minor league system in an attempt to be a serious contender for the next 10 years.
Although everyone thought Billy Bean was crazy when he did these trades, they are in 2nd place in the wild card race-6 games infront of us and only getting better.
But as I have also said in previous posts, this is all just speculation anyway, because JP and Godfrey are not going to do anything in an attempt to keep their jobs. So get used to 3rd or 4th place for a while.
JP isn’t going to do anything agree with you on that. We need to get rid of Rolen…I don’t mind that. We should trade Burnett…I don’t mind that either.
We should trade Halladay NOOOOOO. unless you are right if we are offered Longoria and Price (who in their right mind is going to do that though, tampa doesn’t need halladay) and for us and even you said LIKELY price is goingto be the best pitcher and Longoria is an all-star already but he is going to be the BEST. Unfortunately I don’t agree with your assessment about Longoria abeing the best (AROD will still have the mantle for the next 5 years….even though we hate him we gotta agree on that he is undoubabely good) and for another 5 years we still can’t say that about longoria.
So trading the best pitcher, the pitcher who had done a lot for us for 2 LIKELY great – best players seems fair. however tampa is just not going to do it and I wouldn’t either, i just dont’ want to see halladay go.
BTW who thinks burnett gets traded now…phillies being i think the only team interseted in him got blanton?
I thought everyone was entitled to give their opinions on this blog as they see fit,But it seems like I was wrong,We have to stop fighting and chastising each other just because we don’t like what they write,infighting only destroys what we now have witch is a great blog.
As fans of the Jays and baseball in genral we all want one thing is to at least to be in the playoffs,But under this managment [Godfrey-J.P.] IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
I meant which lol.
gsumner.
Do you think Burnett will be traded before the deadline and if so to who.
Yo G,
There is no possible way Tampa does that deal. They don’t all of a sudden have a ton of money laying around, plus if Price is as good as claimed why give him up when he is being payed nothing relatively for the next 6-7 years. Doc is a proven vet, and with that comes the price. Rolen is fantastic! Longoria, has a way higher ceiling so again, why would TB do that deal? Rolen is not a fifth spot hitter anymore but his defence is second to none. Buy a bat via FA or trade and you don’t need to rely on his bat. This team is not far off.
Garry-A lot depends on this series in Tampa Bay. Right now we trail TB by 8.5 games in the wild card race. If we sweep them, we’d only be 5.5 games back and still have an outside chance to contend. If we get swept, we’re 11.5 games back with 64 left and our season is toast.
My guess is, if we sweep, we keep him a little longer, if we get swept-he’s gone to the best bidder.
rmatty-tell me if you’d do this deal. Send Burnett, Overbay and Ryan to Atlanta for Tiexera-providing we could re-sign him to a 3-4 year deal.
See I think for Tiexera Burnett, Overbay and Ryan would bring perhaps an extra prospect because burnett is a great pitcher, ryan is a great starter and overbay is just mediocre so ryan and burnett = tiexera and overbay = prospect (something like that)
Oh and garry if we take 2/3 then we would be 7.5 games back and if they take it 2/3 then we would be 9.5 games back so at the very least we gotta take 2/3 although a sweep would be nice.
Nice play Rios zzzzzzzz.
Nice pickoff on Craford.
wat the hell was i saying…burneet is a great starter and ryan is a great closer*