Who to Root For?

Who do I root for, now that the Blue Jays are eliminated from the playoffs. Who do I want to see win the whole dang thing, out of the possible choices. Well, it used to be mostly intuitive. Hate the AL East teams, get a feel about the history of the other teams, what kind of baseball town they are. And follow any favorite players that may be on other teams.

Eventually, I just started rooting for ex-Blue Jays that were on other teams. As long as I liked them, anyway. If they were considered traitors in any way, they were off my radar. Then I started factoring in how long the team had waited to win a World Series.

This year, though, it has become a mathematical equation. I have four factors that I am considering when choosing who to root for. 1) How long HAS it been since they won a World Series. Sorry, new teams, but not winning one doesn't mean the same thing as waiting 86 years to win one. 2) How many ex-Blue Jays DO they employ on their roster? Keeping ex-Blue Jays in the game almost always makes me happy. 3) Did I visit their stadium this year? I've sort of been rooting for the Phillies and Nationals all along on a secondary level this year. It'll be interesting to see how this translates to my New York trip next year. 4) Are they still alive in my World Series Survivor? Look, I want to have some success with this new concept. I've gone out on limbs here, and I want to look good and have the kind of success that will make me want to continue it next year.

1) The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series in 99 YEARS! It's called the Curse of the Goat for a long and silly reason, but that makes them the team waiting longest for World Series Championship in all of baseball, let alone in the playoffs. The team that has been waiting the second-longest amount of time is also in the playoffs, the Cleveland Indians. They won their last World Series way back in 1948. From there we jump all the way to 1980 and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Rockies have never won a World Series, but they've only been around since 1992. The rest of the teams have all won a World Series in this decade: The Yankees in 2000, the Diamondbacks in 2001, the Angels in 2002, and the Red Sox in 2004.

2)The Boston Red Sox actually have FOUR ex-Blue Jays on their postseason roster: Mike Timlin (who was standing on the mound and got the save when the Jays beat the Braves in '92), Eric Hinske, Kevin Cash and Bobby Kielty. There are two other teams that have two ex-Blue Jays each: the Angels (Kelvim Escobar and Justin Speier) and the Diamondbacks (Doug Davis and Gold-Glover Orlando Hudson -- who is actually injured but a big favorite of mine). There are three teams that have only one player: Ted Lilly is on the Chicago Cubs, Jayson Werth is on the Philadelphia Phillies and Roger Clemens is on the New York Yankees. There are no ex-Blue Jays on the Cleveland Indians or the Colorado Rockies.

3) I went to Citizens Bank Park and RFK Stadium this year and bought the requisite Phillies and Nationals hats as souvenirs. Thus, the Phillies deserve a special bonus.

4) There are four teams I have not eliminated from the World Series Survivor competition: The San Diego Padres (blarf), the Cleveland Indians, the LA Angels, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The last three deserve compensation.

So... After all this is done and said, this is the order in which I (and you, for that matter) should be rooting for teams in postseason 2007:

Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago Cubs
LA Angels
Cleveland Indians
Arizona Diamondbacks
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Colorado Rockies

Of course, between the time I started writing this post and actually posting it, my top 3 teams went 0-5. Maybe this will help.

Closing the Month Notes

Whoa, sorry about that, guys. I sorta took a little vacation there. But it's still been my best month as far as blogging is concerned. I'll try to at least match the posts next month, although there's a lot going on, especially at the end of the month. Here's some updates:

- I went to a Cataloguing Symposium in NYC a few weeks ago for work. It hink it was good. We'll try to implement some of it this Summer.

- Then I came home and took my family to Cooperstown. We were there for the Hall of Fame Game (Blue Jays v. Orioles) and the festivities around it. My son was afraid of the subdued lighting, but I had a good time.

- A full one-third of all of Major League Baseball has been eliminted, by me, from winning the World Series. (Including the fact that my beloved Jays will not show up on this list). Here is the updated list and their elimination numbers (the number of combined losses by the team and wins by the Wild Card leader in each league).

#1 - Tampa Bay (104)

#2 - Kansas City (98)

#3 - Washington (99)

#4 - Seattle (109)

#5 - Colorado (103)

#6 - Texas (99)

#7 - Cincinnati (98)

#8 - Pittsburgh (102)

#9 - Houston (100)

I expect the first actual elimination around August 15. I can't wait to see who it will be!

Obviously, the biggest mistake was Seattle, which is now only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card, but it's going to get much tougher now, as the parity in baseball continues and anyone that goes on a run can put themselves in contention.

- I am now reading THE BLACK ECHO by Michael Connelly. A little more procedural than I normally read, and I was expecting it to be first-person, based on THE POET, but it's good so far. And the tunnel rat stuff is just really claustrophobic.

- The Guppies have not written back to me about membership.

So, that's what's going on with me. I am putting the final touches on my novel and I want some people to read it. I want to start the next one. Vacation at the end of the month. Stay Tuned!

I Wish That I Had Jesse's Curve

Now, look at this picture. Is that a face only a mother could love, or what? Well, for at least today, I love him too. His name is Jesse Litsch, and he is the starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. With 3 of the 5 starters set at opening day gone from the rotation, the Jays need some help. They looked down to their AA affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats to find it. There, Jesse Litsch was having a great year. He had compiled a 5-1 record with an ERA under 1, including giving up only 1 Earned Run in his last four starts. He proabably wont' stay on the roster, but for tonight, he's the Golden Boy.

But the more I find out about him, the more I like him. First of all, he shares my birthday, okay, not the same year, but still--The most famous person to have my birthday up until this point was Emmanuel Lewis. And that WAS the same year. But also, his Dad's birthday is today. He's going to fly up from Florida to Toronto to watch his son make his Major League debut. How cool is that? And his Dad is turning 57, which means he had the kid when he was about 34, and I wasn't much younger than that when my boy was born....

Hey, a guy can dream, can't he? So, come on everybody, put your positive thoughts out there for Jesse. Let's beat those Orioles and (woo) maintain our tenuous grip on 4th place!

I Mean, Come On...

$1 Million per start. That's approximately what Roger Clemens will be pulling in this summer as a member of the New york Yankees. His contract actually says $28 million per year, but that is pro-rated for the 4 months he'll actually pitch, meaning he will get about $18.5 million before taxes. A top starter gets about 30 starts per year, so take away a third of the season, and Roger will be expected to make about 20 starts this year. Guh. If I were a Yankee fan, which I am not, I would be expecting a win each time this guy took the mound. And for a 45-year-old guy who has spent the last 3 years in the National League, I don't think he's going to get one every time out.


I'd look like this, too, if I had so much pressure on me:

All the fans expect is a World Series...
No problem.

And can we not talk about the Blue Jays? What's worse than having Roger Clemens back in the division? The fact that even without facing him on a regular basis yet, the Jays still can't beat anybody. I don't know the last time the Jays suffered two straight series sweeps, and I don't want to. I'll forget this week ever happened as soon as I can. I need to take my frustration out on somebody:

How about the Texas Rangers? They just swept the Jays and now have the same poor record as the Jays and are just as far out of a playoff spot. This is the second of four teams I have eliminated from the AL West, which leaves only Oakland and Anaheim as possible winners from this division. But, given recent history, that's not such a bad call. They had high hopes of rehabilitating some great careers in the likes of Sammy Sosa and Eric Gagne. It hasn't quite worked out for them yet. And probably won't this year. Bye bye Lone Star, it was nice while it lasted.

After Action Report

This is over a week coming, but I thought I'd write about my trip to Toronto. The family had a good time. The game could've been better as the the Royals took revenge on me through the Blue Jays. We went up early and walked around. There is very little remaining on Front Street compared to what I remember in the "Glory Days." And maybe that' s the reason. There were over 4 million people visiting the SkyDome in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Enough to support a nice trade along the route north of the stadium. But the game we were at was the second home game of the season and the paid attendance was less than half capacity. All the seats in the upper deck of the stadium were $2 Canadian and it was more than half empty. We were looking for a hat and maybe a jacket for the boy, but came back with just the hat.

Our seats were pretty great, due to the generosity of the Blue Jays and the fact that we got them early. There was a problem with ordering tickets online in February and the Jays sent us vouchers for tickets for one of these 2 games. We were in the 9th row on the first base side, just past the bag. We had a great view and were well within foul ball range, although none came close. The boy was fascinated as soon as he got in his seat. He watched the end of Batting Practice as well as all the warmups and stretching. It bodes well for future trips this summer.

Josh Towers pitched great, even if he didn't get the credit for it. I'd put him up against any other 5th starter in baseball this year. Gregg Zaun had a nice pinch-hit homer. But two miscues by Matt Stairs, playing left field for an apparently injured Reed Johnson led to two runs that shouldn't have happened. Troy Glaus was visibly limping as he came down the line. Ultimately, Reed Johnson and Troy Glaus got put on the DL, along with closer BJ Ryan, but I'm not actually too concerned. Adam Lind was called up from Syracuse and should provide the bat, if not the defense, to replace Johnson. The bullpen has been pitching great (except for Ryan) and Jason Frasor steps into the closer role, a role he had back in 2004. John McDonald (the boy likes to say that name, along with Lyle Overbay) and newcomer Jason Smith will platoon at 3B until Troy Glaus is ready.

As of right now, I am listening to a tie-game first place battle between the Jays and the Red Sox. It's been a pretty good year so far, but it's going to take 16 Wins a month to win this division, and we've got 148 games left.

My Next Victim

It's Monday, and time for me to eliminate another team from the possibility of reaching the storied position of World Series Champs. Unfortunately for the Kansas City Royals, I am attending the Blue Jays' second home game of the season tomorrow, against those same Royals. So, in honor of that, I am eliminating the Royals from the World Series run. Maybe next year guys...

In Other News...

Due to a little surprise courtesy of the Toronto Blue Jays, I will be seeing another game in Toronto this year. Here is the schedule of my Major League visits:

April 10 - in Toronto vs. the KC Royals
May 21 - The Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown: Jays vs. Orioles
June 29 - in Philly vs. the Mets
July 2 - in DC vs the Cubs, before RFK gets shut down for baseball for good.
September 30 - in Toronto vs. the D-Rays. It's the last game of the season, folks. I'll get a free tocque. Let's hope it's meaningful.

Jays of Fame

Today it was announced that Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July. With the 3rd and 7th highest percentages ever recorded for an induction ballot, their entrance was pretty much guaranteed. Again, there were worthy candidates left to see if they would ever be considered good enough to attain this immortality. The fact that players like Andre Dawson, Jim Rice, "Goose" Gossage and Bert Blyleven are not considered worthy is beyond my comprehension. It seems to me that, despite getting Gwynn and Ripken right, the Baseball Writers Association of America is a gaggle of grumpy old white men, squeezing whatever power they can out of their assigned "responsibility."

Lost in the hubbub of those that got in and those that got close, was the fact that there were two players eligible that likely would have gone in as Blue Jays: Devon White and Tony Fernandez. Now, while it's neither robbery nor an upset that neither one was elected to the Hall, it is disconcerting that neither one even garnered the 5% necessary to stay on the ballot for next year. (Fernandez got a total of 4 votes on the 545 ballots, White not a single one.) Dave Winfield (big hit in Game 6 of the 1992 Series) and Paul Molitor (MVP of the 1993 Series) have both been inducted in recent years, but neither as a Blue Jay. (And rightly so.) Who, then, from the core of those Championship teams, will represent the Blue Jays in the Hall of Fame? The two most recognizable faces from those teams are Joe Carter (who has already been eliminated) and Roberto Alomar, who had an unfortunate altercation with an umpire that seemed to outrage America. Alomar, probably the most worthy of all Blue Jays, will likely be hurt by what the writers see as Character Flaws. To wit: we don't like him and we won't give him admittance to a place he deserves to go because of it.

The answer, then, is no one. There is no one else on those teams that has the stats to make it into the Hall, and certainly no one else that would be considered a Blue Jay first and foremost. It may be 30 years before we see a Blue Jay elected to the Hall of Fame. After all, we're still trying to elect the best players from the 70s.

Hello Vernon Wells, Goodbye ?

It's official. (Okay, it was days ago.) Vernon Wells signed a back-heavy 7-year, $126 million (US) contract extension with the Jays. He'll honor the rest of his contract for 2007, where his salary will be $5.6 million, and his base pay in the first two years of the new contract will be $500,000 and $1.5 million, meaning in the last 3 years, his hit to the payroll will be over $20 million per year. This is guaranteed money in baseball, folks. The $25.5 million signing bonus included in the deal will be paid in 3 annual installments of $8.5 million.

What does this all mean?

#1 - Vernon Wells is a very lucky man. He even said it himself, his children will never be able to spend all this money. The man and his Texas family are set for life.

#2 - The Blue Jays have the rights to the core of their offense until the end of the 2014 season. If Wells completes this contract with the Jays, he will have appeared in 16 straight seasons as a Blue Jay and likely surpassed Toronto greats Joe Carter, George Bell and Carlos Delgado in most, if not all, offensive categories. Not to mention garner more than the five Gold Gloves that Roberto Alomar got as a Blue Jay. He would BE the Blue Jays for an entire generation of fans.

#3 - Vernon Wells is now virtually untradeable. Despite the aberration that the Alex Rodriguez situation was, a contract like this has never been traded. Just think of how hard the Red Sox have worked to move Manny Ramirez over the last 2-3 years.

#4 - The Blue Jays can win NOW. The way the contract is weighted, the Jays still have money to spend over the next 2-3 seasons. They can trade for pitching or, if the right deal comes along, pick up a starter in free agency. They may suffer down the road as Wells' deal balloons, but then again, they may have more money by then.

#5 - Alex Rios is gone. Just as the obvious trade value existed in Gold Glove second-baseman Orlando Hudson last year, it exists in Alex Rios after his breakout 2006. It would certainly weaken the lineup to lose him, but the Jays have an up-and-coming hitter in lefty Adam Lind. He would slot into Left Field if Rios was moved, and Reed Johnson would become the new Right Fielder. The problem with this is that both Rios and Hudson were known quantities. The addition of the new players will help, but will it be enough to offset the loss of the current palyers? Troy Glaus put up the best offensive numbers at third base since Tony Battista (with better defense), but a Hudson-less middle infield was a disaster, with at least 5 starting shortstops (including Glaus) and no stability whatsoever. If the Jays lose Rios, who will hit in the #2 spot? And will they miss his arm in Right?

Ultimately, I think we'd all like to see the Jays add a starter without getting rid of Rios, but that may not be possible. Whatever happens, I think it's safe to say that there are more changes to come...

Vernon Wells Extension?

Wow. Okay, I just saw a report that says the Blue Jays offered Vernon Wells a seven-year contract extension worth $126 million. That's $18 million per year, folks. For a guy that was scheduled to make $5.6 million this year. If only we could all get raises like that.

Seriously, this makes me very happy. Trying to keep Vernon in Toronto is a class move, and I appreciate how hard they're working at it. Vernon is a Blue Jay through and through, and I would love to see him flashing that gold glove in center as the rock of that offense until my son turns 10.

Blue Jays Comings and Goings

It's official. Ted Lilly has signed with the Chicago Cubs. As much as I felt comfortable with Justin Speier (now an Angel) coming into the game, and as much as I loved the spunk of Frank Catalanatto (now a Ranger), this is the biggest blow to the team so far this off-season. Lilly won a career high 15 games in 2006 and was an All-Star in 2004. He improved each of his four years in Toronto and is now leaving it behind. I would have felt bad if the team had signed Frank Thomas for $9 million a year, but couldn't afford Lilly. But it apparently wasn't about the money. He felt it was time to move on. At least it wasn't to the Yankees.

I feel confident in the top 3 starters: Halladay, Burnett and Chacin. JP Ricciardi was in the hunt for not only Lilly, but Mariner free-agent Gil Meche as well. That would've given the team potential for 15 wins with each starter, but that's not to be. And who says the Jays are going to be able to overpay for Meche? If they lose both pitchers, it will start to look as if Josh Towers and Shaun Marcum will round out the rotation, which will put the season on shaky ground before it even starts.

Frank Thomas was a flashy addition, but only time will tell how smart an addition it is. He had a great year last year, and this gives the team a hitter that finished third in MVP voting and a pitcher that finished third in Cy Young voting (Halladay). But Halladay only takes the field once every five days and Thomas only takes the field once every nine at-bats. It also makes righties predominate in the lineup. Lyle Overbay will be the only lefty regular, and Zaun switch-hits.

I'm comfortable with Royce Clayton at short, especially with the added offense of Thomas. Hopefully, this will shore up the infield defense. John McDonald is apparently ready to re-sign as well as the backup infielder if Hill, Clayton or Glaus need a day off.

Bengie Molina is reportedly poised to sign with the Giants.

This is how I see the lineup breaking down:
Reed Johnson (LF)
Alex Rios (RF)
Vernon Wells (CF)
Frank Thomas (DH)
Troy Glaus (3B)
Lyle Overbay (1B)
Aaron Hill (2B)
Gregg Zaun (C)
Royce Clayton (SS)

Late notes: The Jays signed Matt Stairs to a one-year deal as the fourth outfielder. And Gil Meche signed with the KC Royals for five years, reportedly worth $11 million per year. Wow.

Only 116 days till Opening Day.

Second Post Blues

Great. Now that I've got this thing going, there's simply too much to talk about and not enough time to do it yet. To wit:

The Jays' Roost: Frank Thomas, Gregg Zaun and Royce Clayton in. Ted Lilly out.

Filmy Residue: Saw the first two Muppet movies on the big screen!

Rochester Writes: I'm attending an event at the Lift Bridge Bookstore in Brockport, NY with over 40 local authors. I'm looking forward to seeing Charles Benoit again, and meeting several other local authors.

Jared Case, Author!: Yeah, I haven't had much time here, either. But I need to get my Malice Domestic Grant application in by next week!

First Post Blues

What to write in your first post on a Blog?
How about an introduction to what you can find on this Blog?
I'll be talking baseball and the Blue Jays in section called The Jays' Roost.
I'll be bringing you information on authors in the Rochester area in a section called Rochester Writes.
I'll be bringing you my thoughts on films I see, past and present, in Filmy Residue.
And I'll be updating you on my efforts to become published myself, in Jared Case, Author!

Wish me luck!