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Alarm bells are not yet ringing but the Blue Jays are carefully monitoring the situation with Brandon League's tender right shoulder and quietly studying their options for the important role of set-up man. League last threw on Wednesday and did not look strong, throwing from more of a sidearm angle rather than over the top as the Jays would like to see him throw. He has been shut down and is suffering from a stiff shoulder. Labels: league
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When you think Lyle Overbay, the first thing that pops into your head is the word "doubles." That's natural enough, given that since 2004 he has roped the most doubles (133) in Major League Baseball. But when manager John Gibbons thinks about Overbay, he thinks bigger. "I think Lyle could be a 30-home run guy," Gibbons said. "He's just a big, strong country boy , er, mountain boy .. I don't know what to call him. He always has hit a lot of doubles but I think he'll become one of the premier hitters in the league in the next couple of years." In the Jays lineup, he'll have plenty of company in that regard, including Frank Thomas who was so thankful for Overbay handing over sweater No. 35 that he commissioned a painting by Vernon Wells, Sr., as a gift to Overbay. Labels: overbay
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When you think Lyle Overbay, the first thing that pops into your head is the word "doubles." That's natural enough, given that since 2004 he has roped the most doubles (133) in Major League Baseball. But when manager John Gibbons thinks about Overbay, he thinks bigger. Labels: overbay
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Few baseball players carry as athletic a look as Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios. From Babe Ruth to John Kruk, baseball is a sport famous for getting able results from some truly unathletic forms - but Rios is definitely not one of them. At 6-foot-5, and just a shade under 200 pounds, the 26-year-old is lithe with thick shoulders, a narrow waist and long legs packed with ropy muscles. Put together, the package suggests he could just as easily be a great shooting guard, swimmer or celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Labels: rios
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George Bell, Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield are widely regarded as the best outfield the Toronto Blue Jays have ever had, a potent combination of offensive talent and defensive skill. Born within a span of 16 days in 1959, the talented trio spent five full seasons and parts of two others together during the 1980s, key factors in the club's rise from expansion-team doormat to American League East powerhouse. "They played really well together," former teammate Ernie Whitt, now the Blue Jays' bench coach, said Saturday. "Offensively they were outstanding, defensively they did a great job out there for us." Labels: johnson, rios, wells
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Alarm bells are not yet ringing but the Blue Jays are carefully monitoring the situation with Brandon League's tender right shoulder and quietly studying their options for the important role of bullpen set-up man. League last threw on Wednesday and did not look strong in that session, throwing from more of a sidearm angle rather than over the top as the Jays would like. He's been shut down since then, suffering from a stiff shoulder. Labels: league
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There are no crises at this stage of spring training. But there are concerns. And when the spring-training visit from a former Munchkin (Mickey Carroll) has made a bigger impact than the pitcher being counted on to set up $47-million closer B.J. Ryan, it's time to at least see the Wizard -- make that the general manager -- and ask if in hindsight he should have given Justin Speier enough money to keep him here. "Nah," J.P. Ricciardi said, wrinkling his nose. "The trick is to pay those guys before they make the big money." In some ways, the Toronto Blue Jays would rather middle-relief pitcher Brandon League had a little bit of shoulder trouble. That way, at least, it would simply be a matter of backing him off in the spring and monitoring the right-hander's throwing.
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The World Series ring Frank Thomas won with the 2005 Chicago White Sox sits in a trophy case at his Las Vegas- area home. Every once in a while he looks at it and smiles, remembering the sheer joy of the moment. Nomatter that he didn’t have an at- bat after July 20 that year, or that he watched the post- season idly with his foot immobolized, or that he missed the on- field celebrations. That championship was the pinnacle of his decade and a half in the south side of Chicago and nothing, not the pain of watching from the sidelines nor the subsequent messy breakup with the White Sox, can take away from it. Labels: thomas
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When you think Lyle Overbay, the first thing that pops into your head is the word "doubles." That's natural enough, given that since 2004 he has roped the most doubles (133) in Major League Baseball. But when John Gibbons thinks about Overbay, he thinks bigger. "I think Lyle could be a 30-home run guy," the Blue Jays manager said yesterday. "He's just a big, strong country boy, er, mountain boy ... I don't know what to call him. He's always hit a lot of doubles, but I think he'll become one of the premier hitters in the league in the next couple of years." Labels: overbay
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Time and time again, Lyle Overbay flashes his big trapper as he stands near first base and expertly gathers up the ground balls lashed his way during infield practice. Afterward, Overbay deposits each ball in a big barrel and positions himself for the next hit. Infrequently, when a ball skips through his grasp, Overbay will frown or slap his mitt against his thigh, willing himself to be more careful in the future. As if he needs to be reminded. Labels: overbay
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Let's get this out on the table right away. Frank Thomas, almost 39 years old and on the cusp of his 18th big-league season, knows how to go about his business. Thus, the reason that at 9 a.m. on photo day at the Toronto Blue Jays' minor-league complex, three hours before the team is required to stretch and well before most of his teammates have even shaken the cobwebs from the previous night's sleep, Thomas is in the batting cage. The drills that have made 500 home runs inevitable are repeated again and again. Labels: thomas
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This year may be the Chinese year of the pig, but in the baseball world, don't get confused. 2007 is the year of the Blue Jay. The Toronto Blue Jays are going into training camp with one goal on their mind and two bulls-eyes firmly planted on their free-spending AL East neighbors to the south. The glory days of 1992 and 1993 are long gone, but the memories still resonate in the minds of the faithful fans would have been forced to endure 13 years of playoff-less baseball. To those loyal addicts who have traipsed day after day to the Rogers Centre hoping to watch a winner, success is finally on the horizon.
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Toronto will score runs, so this season will come down to how well the Jays pitch -- and part of that will be how well general manager J.P. Ricciardi plugged holes left by the departures of starter Ted Lilly and set-up man Justin Speier. The Jays attempted to re-sign Lilly and failed, they went after Gil Meche and missed on him, too. So they've got about seven candidates for the Nos. 4 and 5 starter slots, and they're counting on rookie Brandon League to help step in for Speier. While the rotation is important, don't underestimate the loss of Speier, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He ranked fifth in the AL last season in both holds (25) and opponents batting average by left-handers (.183).
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Of all the issues a major-league team can face, nothing cuts to its core more than trying to make a call on the eternal prospect, the can't-miss guy with can't-miss stuff who has missed. A guy like the Toronto Blue Jays' Dustin McGowan. There really is no other way to describe where he is right now. Seven years after the Gord Ash regime drafted him 33rd overall and three years removed from Tommy John surgery, McGowan is closer to making an impact on the organization as a trading chip than on the field. Labels: mcgowan
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A decent man can go a long ways in a major league clubhouse. A few decent men even further. Frank Thomas is going to try to be one of those guys with the Toronto Blue Jays this summer and next. With, as the old song goes, a little help from his friends. "I've had a lot of great elder teammates through the days," Thomas said over the weekend in Dunedin. "Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines ? I think Harold was the epitome of it. You would never know Harold Baines was in the room, I don't care how many years he had. He was just such a class act. Tim Raines? Great guy. Labels: thomas
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There are such things as fairy tales in spring training, and yesterday the Blue Jays gave life to one when they signed sidearm-throwing lefty Jo Matumoto. The 36-year-old Brazilian-born pitcher of Japanese descent arrived in camp in hopes of making his dream come true and jump from the relative obscurity of pitching in Brazil and Japan to the major leagues. Matumoto faces long odds – he's paper-thin and needs probably several months to build strength in his arm and body. But there's something about his wonky delivery and breaking pitches – his primary pitches are a screwball and slider – that prompted the Jays to sign him.
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The Toronto Blue Jays shrugged off the latest mud slung at them by Shea Hillenbrand, who was booted off the team last July after his mutinous scribbles on a clubhouse whiteboard led manager John Gibbons to challenge the infielder to a fight. Speaking to the Toronto Sun in Thursday's paper, Hillenbrand accused J.P. Ricciardi of threatening "to bury" him on the roster, alleged that the general manager made disparaging comments about other players to him, blamed Ricciardi for stressing out Gibbons and took yet another shot at catcher Gregg Zaun. Labels: hillenbrand
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Alarm bells are not yet ringing but the Blue Jays are carefully monitoring the situation with Brandon League's tender right shoulder and quietly studying their options for the important role of set-up man. League last threw on Wednesday and did not look strong, throwing from more of a sidearm angle rather than over the top as the Jays would like to see him throw. He has been shut down and is suffering from a stiff shoulder. Labels: league
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Gregg Zaun is a reformed twit, so he can relate to Shea Hillenbrand. "When I was a free agent one time, I had a general manager tell my agent: 'As long as I'm in the game, he won't be back in the game,' " Zaun said. "Hey, I was young and stupid at one time. I've managed to remake myself." The Toronto Blue Jays signalled the start of full-squad workouts yesterday by lining a few home-run balls over Field 2's outfield wall -- bouncing at least two off the window and roof of the administrative complex and workroom -- and in between the fly balls and high hops and slow rollers there was plenty of eye-rolling, too. Labels: hillenbrand
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Gregg Zaun was eating dinner by the bar at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Cincinnati three years ago when he became convinced his playing days were over. It was opening day, April 5, 2004, and then-Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker and a handful of players walked into the restaurant after beating the Reds 7-4. Zaun, cut by the Montreal Expos only days earlier, had no job, no prospects and no hope. Labels: zaun
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The Toronto Blue Jays are shrugging off the latest mud slung at them by Shea Hillenbrand, who was booted off the team last July after his mutinous scribbles on a clubhouse whiteboard led manager John Gibbons to challenge the infielder to a fight. Speaking to the Toronto Sun in Thursday's edition, Hillenbrand accused Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi of threatening "to bury" him on the roster, alleged that Ricciardi had made disparaging comments to him about other players, blamed the GM for stressing out Gibbons and took yet another shot at catcher Gregg Zaun. Labels: hillenbrand
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Calling pitcher Jo Matumoto an underdog wouldn't even begin describing the long odds the Brazilian left-hander faces of ever pitching in the major leagues. But thanks to his determined wife, the clout of agent Randy Hendricks and just enough potential to pique the interest of the Toronto Blue Jays, Matumoto signed a minor-league contract Friday and is going to get the kind of opportunity that has long been his dream. "This is overwhelming," he said through a translator, his wife Maria Fernanda De Luca, before tearing up.
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Troy Glaus took a mighty swing at a toss from hitting coach Mickey Brantley and uttered an expletive. He glanced at the pale, unblemished newbie bat and frowned. The swing says spring; the scowl is in midseason form. "This is [expletive deleted]," Glaus grumped. "It feels like I'm hitting the ball with a pillow." When the Blue Jays acquired Glaus from the Arizona Diamondbacks last winter, the Jays convinced him to waive a no-trade clause that included Toronto. At the time, he was also told that he would be the cleanup hitter.
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The heart of the Toronto Blue Jays lineup gathered by the pitching mound following batting practice Wednesday afternoon, debating whether to continue working out or call it a day. Sluggers Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus, leading a large group, talked it out with hitting coach Mickey Brantley and decided they should all split up, some heading for the clubhouse, others for additional work. Only Matt Stairs looked lost.
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When Royce Clayton was establishing a career in major-league baseball as a smooth-fielding shortstop, he could not help but notice how the bodies in the locker room started bulking up over the years. And he knew he had a decision to make. He could either join the ranks of the bulk brigade or continue on his chosen path and hope that hard work, combined with a quick glove and a keen sense of the game, would be enough to chisel out a decent career. Labels: clayton
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The heart of the Toronto Blue Jays lineup gathered by the pitching mound following batting practice Wednesday afternoon, debating whether to continue working out or call it a day. Sluggers Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus, leading a large group, talked it out with hitting coach Mickey Brantley and decided they should all split up, some heading for the clubhouse, others for additional work. Only Matt Stairs looked lost. "Where do the backup DHs go?" the Fredericton native said to uproarious laughter from his new teammates. "Old guys over there," Thomas replied, pointing his bat to the clubhouse.
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The two newest faces in the Toronto Blue Jays' starting lineup ambled into training camp Tuesday. Frank Thomas and Royce Clayton, two veterans with vastly different skill sets, arrived excited about their first season in Toronto. Thomas, the designated hitter who spent the first 16 years of his career with the Chicago White Sox before moving to Oakland last year, said he embraced the idea of joining a new team for a second straight season. Labels: clayton, thomas
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From the moment he re-signed with the Blue Jays last December, Gregg Zaun became the team's No. 1 catcher. It remains only to determine just how many games the soon-to-be 36 year-old will catch. Labels: zaun
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Dustin McGowan still figures into the Blue Jays' plans. As has been the case for the past few seasons, though, the question remains: How soon? Thanks to some leeway granted by the league, the Blue Jays can afford to practice some more patience with the 24-year-old pitching prospect. Toronto was allowed a fourth option year for McGowan, which means it can send the right-hander to the Minors without exposing him to waivers. Labels: mcgowan
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A.J. Burnett strolled onto the Blue Jays' Spring Training grounds earlier this weekend, walking alone with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. When Burnett arrived, he wasn't immediately swarmed by a horde of reporters. As he walked, all eyes at the Bobby Mattick Training Center weren't trained on him. It was a stark contrast to last spring, when Burnett provided the buzz after signing a five-year, $55 million deal to pitch for the Blue Jays. Labels: burnett
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The Jays are now graced with an expanded payroll, and they're coming off a season in which they finished higher than third place for the first time since 1993. This winter, they pried veteran DH Frank Thomas away from Oakland, and they locked up franchise center fielder Vernon Wells to a long-term contract. As well, they now have two high-ceiling position prospects — outfielders Adam Lind and Travis Snider — for the first time in quite a while.
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J.P. Ricciardi intends to make good on a promise to his friend John Gibbons, but friendship only goes so far in major-league sports. Heading into spring training, Ricciardi, the Toronto Blue Jays' general manager, promised he would not let his Gibbons, the Jays manager and Ricciardi's former minor-league roommate, dangle late into the season on the final year of his contract. And he appears to have made good on that, as word of Gibbons' imminent one-year contract extension is making the rounds.
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The Blue Jays have some pitching questions to answer this spring but none of them revolve around the man who only appears when the pressure is maxed out and the game is on the line. There is no greater luxury for a big league manager than to be able to pick up the telephone and summon a B.J. Ryan from the bullpen to convert a wafer-thin lead into a victory and Toronto's John Gibbons knows it. Labels: ryan
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He came striding out of the parking lot, duffle bag slung over a shoulder, his long, reddish mop of hair ruffled by a cold north wind. "It's my Canadian hockey player look," A.J. Burnett said. "But I don't know how long it's going to last. Could be gone first time I get roughed up." Funny how much difference a year can make. A year ago, Burnett arrived at the Blue Jays camp burdened by the expectations that came with what was then a monster free-agent deal. The $55-million US contract that had Major League Baseball owners grumbling last winter wouldn't even have raised an eyebrow this year. Labels: burnett
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-The Toronto Blue Jays and manager John Gibbons have agreed to a one-year, $650,000 contract extension, a team official said Monday. Gibbons led the Blue Jays to an 87-75 record and a second-place finish in the AL East last season - the first time they finished higher than third since winning the World Series in 1993. Labels: gibbons
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All winter, the Toronto Blue Jays engaged in an unsuccessful pursuit of someone they could pay millions of dollars to provide a double-digit win total and around 200 innings of work. All winter at home in California, Josh Towers endured 5 a.m. workout wake-up calls from teammate Reed Johnson in hopes of proving Toronto already had the man they needed. Coming into spring training, Towers knew it would be a tough sell. His 2006 season was about as cold as the frigid winds that buffeted Toronto's pitchers and catchers during the brief outdoor portion of their workout on Sunday. Following a 2005 season in which he went 13-12 and with a 3.71 ERA, Towers imploded. Labels: towers
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When it came to controlling base stealers last season, the Toronto Blue Jays were generous to a fault. The Blue Jays were last in the American League in stolen bases allowed over the course of the 2006 season with 130. Throughout all of major-league baseball, only the San Diego Padres, who allowed 150 stolen bases, sported worse totals than the Blue Jays. But not all of this futility can be pinned on the Jays' catchers, manager John Gibbons said. Labels: gibbons
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The Toronto Blue Jays start trickling into Dunedin, Fla., this week for a spring training camp that should be one of their most important and interesting in recent years. Buoyed by an 87-75 mark last year that was good for second place in the ultra competitive American League East, spirits are high as pitchers and catchers arrive for their first official workout Saturday. The first full squad workout is Feb. 22.
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With Toronto Blue Jays pitchers and catchers reporting for their medical exams this morning, so begins the process of answering the baseball questions that have percolated in the minds of baseball fans all winter long. Here is a starting nine of Blue Jays questions to ponder before the real workouts begin Saturday. - Who is healthy, and who isn't?
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It can only get worse for Roy Halladay from this point on. The Toronto Blue Jays' ace knows he will never be healthier in 2007 than he is this morning -- and that starting with today's first formal workout for pitchers and catchers, absolutely nothing good can come out of anything he does in the next few days. Zilch. Only bad things can happen. He can't win a Cy Young Award by Tuesday. But a twinge here or a pull there and he could lose one by Monday. Spring training is six weeks designed to get pitchers in shape for the regular season. And at complexes throughout Florida and Arizona, teams are in the "no surprises, please," stage. Some are doing better than others.
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Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay is taking a slower approach to the coming season. The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner follows a gruelling workout regimen to stay fit and his penchant for hard work gets some of the blame for his recent health problems. He battled a strained right forearm last season and decided to change the way he prepares for a season to see if he can avoid injury troubles in 2007. Labels: halladay
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