What Came First: The Player(s) or the Fans? An Open Letter to Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos

What Came First: The Player(s) or the Fans?

An Open Letter to Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos

December 7, 2011

Dear Mssrs. Beeston and Anthopoulos,

First, we must point out the obvious; there is little chance that either of you will read this letter and there is an even lesser chance that you would make any baseball operation decisions based on it. However, as Torontonians, knowledgeable baseball fans and loyal Blue Jays fans, we were appalled at the statements made yesterday based on what appeared to be your collective decision to “call-out-the-fans”.

Hopefully, your arguments that the team (i.e. Rogers) would not shell-out the money needed to sign a prized free agent until the fans returned to the ballpark was a combination of your exhaustion with being linked to every free agent on the market and a clever ploy to try and keep asking prices low. We assume it was neither, so with all-due respect gentlemen, you have got some nerve!

Yes, it is too easy to concede that throwing money at every Troy, Lyle, and Vernon is not the best way to build a consistently competitive franchise. We will also concede that many Blue Jays fans, have admired the way you two gentlemen have gone about your business, essentially turning the franchise around and building a core nucleus of players that will hopefully lead the Jays to the promised land of the playoffs again. We will even grant you some latitude in recognizing that there has to be a positive correlation between team payroll and team revenues. However, where you and we the fans part ways is how you put this all on us, the loyal fans of this great city.

We have supported this team for almost twenty years of mediocrity and ineptitude. Many of us have been to the “big” games where the atmosphere was as electric as a rock concert, but now coming out to support the team just became a little bit harder. How can we support our Jays yet again when we know that this year will be like all of the other years?

This off-season presented you with the opportunity to tell the fans, “This is it; we’re ready to take that next step. Come along for the ride.” In fact, every word that came from your mouths prior to these winter meetings appeared to be sending this exact message. We were excited. Many started planning on going in on season tickets for what was sure to be the true renaissance of our proud franchise. Instead, the message you sent fans these past few days is now, “You want us to spend? Invest in the team.” Not only is that disrespectful to the fans who have been investing in a team that has not made the playoffs since 1993, but it is also illogical. Imagine if a company like Apple told the public that it would only make better products once consumers bought enough of its mediocre product? To say that this would be totally absurd, illogical and flat out crazy would be an understatement, but yet you said it.

To us, the loyal and knowledgeable fan base, the availability of some seemingly attractive free agents coupled with the fact that the traditional big-spenders aren’t in a position to drive-up the market and the fact that the Jays actually have a strong core of Major League players and prospects, should have made for an easy decision by Blue Jays management and Rogers to get a deal done and bring in a big-name free agent. You want fans to come to the ballpark? Put together what could be one of the most dangerous line-ups in Blue Jays history on the field and you can be almost certain that fans will start returning to the Rogers Centre in droves.

We conclude with this: we are disappointed, more than anything. Disappointed that our beloved Jays won’t take that next step this year…again; disappointed that we’ve been duped into believing that the payroll will go up, independently of gate revenue; and mostly disappointed that the team still doesn’t get it. If fans had a team to cheer for that would be playing a meaningful game past May, then don’t you think we would? Baseball in Toronto is as alive today as it was in the glory days. Reward the fans for their loyalty and patience, and you will be rewarded with our support, and yes, plenty of our money.

Yours truly,

Mario Middonti & George Diplas,

On behalf of Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Fans

Cc: Toronto Media

The 2011 Toronto Blue Jays: The Lunchbox Heroes! - 5 Reasons to Get Behind Our Boys of Summer

The A.H. era began last year (After Halladay that is) and Blue Jay fans had hoped for the best, expected the worst, and got a tremendous 85 win season out of an exciting young group of ballplayers. Which brings us to the current year and a mixed bag of prognostication going on with some saying the Jays haven’t done much to improve and others saying they may have what it takes to compete for that elusive American League Wildcard spot. Here our 5 solid reasons to enjoy the season regardless of what camp you fall in. So get behind these boys – these Lunchbox Heroes (see point 2 and 5) - in 2011 as it will be the beginning of the next great era in Blue Jays baseball.

1. The nPo – the New Pitching Order: sad to see Shaun Marcum off to the Brewers, but his exit from this rotation has opened the way for the young crop of pitchers to show their stuff. We cannot wait to see a rotation that will include Romero, Morrow, Cecil, Drabek and probably Litsch or Rzepczynski. There are also a slew of other young arms that could crack this order or, in the least, give the Jays a tremendous amount of depth. Five years from now, we could say that we saw these future (or imminent) group of All-Stars when they started to really show their stuff - nPo 4 Life!

2. The Young Sluggers: no one is expecting the Jays to surpass the truly incredible team homerun total from last year, but we fans should have even more bashing to look forward to this year. The original ‘Lunchbox Hero’ Travis Snider will hopefully have an injury free year to hit some long ball, joined by J.P Arencibia and many of the usual suspects from last year – including the reigning MLB HR King Jose Bautista. We also have the young Canuck Brett Lawrie to look forward to who should get at least a partial season under his belt this year – and maybe more.

3. The John Farrell Crew: the Blue Jays new manager is 'new' at being the head honcho, but his resume speaks for itself – not least of which is his time as the pitching coach for the Red Sox. He has surrounded himself with many of the coaches - Dwayne Murphy for example - who have been pivotal in developing/improving the play of key players, as well as having former Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen in the bullpen, and a former catcher and manager – Don Wakamatsu – on the bench. Granted, fans generally don’t get excited about coaching per se, but this coaching staff will should guarantee the consistent improvement of a young crew throughout the year – which is exciting for true fans to watch.

4. Some Small Ball: loved the long ball last year, but Farrell has already said he expects to see a little small ball as well – the ability to generate those extra bases via steals or aggressive base running, bunting, hit and run plays – and this will make for some truly entertaining days at the park. Alex Anthopoulos has added some tools to the roster to make this possible – like Rajai Davis (probable leadoff hitter?) and Scott Podsednik (injury aside). I grew up with lots of love for Cito – I am nostalgic for the glory years – and even have an autographed Cito Gaston card – but I am looking forward to seeing a more ‘active’ manager and the psychology involved in small ball which adds another layer to the game.

5. The Twitter-sphere: last but not least – let’s get excited about this young group of guys and their willingness to engage with fans. No doubt social media and modern athletes don’t always mesh – and the recent history is already littered with bonehead decisions – too many to mention – but it seems these ‘New Jays’ are willing to take their chances and stay connected. So take them up on their offer – and get connected! Get online and follow @blawrie13, @jparencibia9, @CEC0208, and @RickyRo24. And don’t forget Travis Snider - who has given himself the moniker @Lunchboxhero45. So come on sports fans, let’s get behind our ‘Lunchbox Heroes’ and watch the beginning of the next great era in Blue Jay Baseball.

The Death of the NBA - Why the Owners & Players Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

Hold on tight if you are a true basketball fan because we are witnessing the demise of an entire league

The NBA is on the road to whatever the opposite of parity is (disparity that is) and it will put any true fans in a state of despair. It did not begin with LeBron James’ decision debacle but that surely amplified what is ruining professional basketball for the true fan.

We now have a league where players are deciding the composition of the roster (see Miami Heat), players under contract negotiating with owners from other teams in the MIDDLE OF THE SEASON (see Carmelo Anthony) and players essentially deciding which teams and markets are worth playing for. This will continue with Chris Paul making his way to New York in the offseason, and Dwight Howard finding his way out of Orlando. And the owners can certainly share in the blame for not only being complacent while this is occurring, but facilitating it and actively participating in it.

This is destroying the competition fans crave. This is telling fans in a majority of NBA cities that their support is useless. This has to end. The landscape of the NBA has to change so that a majority of teams, at any given point, can compete for a playoff spot and subsequently, be competitive in the playoffs.

It is worth outlining the opposing argument to this view. Some would say that players’ have earned this right and that they are merely exercising powers that anyone else in their position would in order to look out for their best interests. I agree. They are doing a great job of looking out for their interests. Players want to win championships, increase their visibility and hence marketability, and play in regions with lower taxes, and maybe warmer weather. But the problem is that when a person or group is looking out for only their interests with no regard for the interests of the entity that gives them the opportunity to make a living – they are failing to see the forest for the trees and may actually be killing the forest. If there are less viable and thriving markets as a whole, this will lead to less teams, less money and less merchandising dollars, period. With the expansion professional sports leagues have experienced in recent decades, ensuring the viability of these expanding markets seems to have been forgotten – and this problem is ruining the product - particularly in the NBA.

Critics would also say that along as a team is winning, players will want to come such as in San Antonio – but San Antonio is the exception not the rule. You cannot build a thriving system around an exception. Also, if star players continue to make their way to ‘better’ markets, there will be no talent to build around in other cities. Sure, fans in Miami are thrilled, but a league cannot exist with L.A., Boston, New York and Miami alone. Owners and management are to blame as well though, and one has to wonder what they have to gain by allowing this to be occurring right under their noses.

Regardless, the person entrusted with seeing the forest and not the trees – the person entrusted with worrying about the game as a whole is the commissioner David Stern, in conjunction with the Board of Governors. David Stern saved this league once, and true fans who notice what is going on are waiting to see what he’ll do now. Ideas floating around include a franchise tag on certain players, or cap exceptions for one star player on every team. I know many of us true fans are waiting to see how this plays out in the coming year, before star players and ignorant owners clear-cut all the trees without planting the seeds for the future forest.

The Season That Wasn’t – What the Raptors Have to do to Move Forward this Offseason

Now that the curtain has officially come down on another disappointing season for a Toronto sports team, the offseason speculation will begin. So I am going to get in on the action early and suggest one obvious, and perhaps unpopular, step that has to be taken: coaching change. I like Jay Triano and I think when the team bought into his schemes in the middle of the season we saw what type of season this could have been - but wasn’t.

Firing a head coach at the end of the season seems like an easy way to move forward from the let down by pinning it on an obvious scapegoat, but this is one case where it is a very justifiable step. There are two main reasons why this would be the right step for the Raptors – and to be more specific – two players and their play which make this necessary. First of all, the big offseason signing from last summer: Hedo Turkoglu.

I have one word for you: Ball.



In his now infamous post game comment to Raptors sportscaster Jack Armstrong after actually having a good game - Hedo said the difference was that he had the ball. And as uncomfortable and odd as that moment was for the audience and poor Jack – Hedo was and is right. Bryan Colangelo brought Hedo in to be the legitimate number 2 option on the team to Chris Bosh, the Scottie Pippen to CB4’s Jordan.

Hedo needs the ball. Hedo needed the ball to go through him to Bosh for the Raptors to be a legitimate threat play after play. If opposing teams collapse on Hedo – Bosh is either open or left in one-on-one coverage. X’s and O’s aside – the bottom line is that the coaching staff didn’t seem to want to adapt a system to the tool they now had. Yes there are times when a player has to adapt his game to a team system – but this was a time when a team had to adapt to the big offseason move they made – and build a system around that.

Secondly – the development of Andrea Bargnani requires a coach who can get him to play the way he can – but won’t. Bargnani can play in the paint – and doesn’t have to fall back on his jump shot every time – and has shown that this season. But he is a young 7 footer, only 24 years old, who needs a coaching staff to get him to realize the overall player he can be.

Essentially, Colangelo has said numerous times that the team has the skill and talent to compete – and I agree with him. So either Triano has to show that he can adjust as a coach to get more out of Turkoglu and Bargnani or he has to go. But it also seemed at times that the team chose not to buy in to the coaching staff’s defensive scheme which leads one to believe that perhaps the coach doesn’t have the confidence of his players. If that’s the case, no amount of adaptability on Triano’s part will change the fortunes of the Raps next year.

Now all of this could end up being a moot point if CB4 leaves – because then the Raptors do not have the talent to be truly competitive regardless of coaching. Let’s be honest, there are probably less than ten consistent double/double, 20-10 guys in the league and Bosh is one of them.

If Bosh already has one foot out the door than Colangelo has to make some magic happen to ensure the Raptors are not in rebuilding mode. So let me leave you with one of those ridiculous – but maybe possible – trades that could salvage next season if CB4 leaves: Turkoglu for Arenas. Why not – one big contract for another and fresh starts all around. And regardless, the gun laws in Canada will ensure that Gilbert keeps his head in check.

Why Ping Pong is Better Than Hockey - Why the NHL needs ESPN

Deciding to take a break this afternoon, I sit down on my nice leather couch, put up my feet, turned the channel to TSN and relaxed in front of my TV. "What did you watch?", you ask. Well, I was treated to ESPN's coverage of championship ping pong! Now, the purpose of this blog isn't to talk about the flawless technique of World Champion Wang Hao (the Toronto Sports Guys will save that discussion for another day), but watching those guys pound the ball back and forth really made me upset at the fact that a "sport" like ping pong can get onto ESPN while the NHL has been off of the network since the lockout.

Now, I'm not trying to knock the existing American coverage, I happen to think that Versus is in fact doing a good job on their coverage. Their analysis and commentary on the game has greatly improved since they first started covering NHL games five years ago. However, the market saturation that Versus occupied cannot compare to that of ESPN. According to Wikipedia, ESPN is broadcast in about 20 million more homes than Versus is. Also, in 2009, DirecTV stopped carrying Versus' signal, thus costing the NHL 14 million potential viewers.

Unfortunately for the NHL, the league and ESPN could not agree on a new deal. ESPN wanted a revenue-sharing agreement, however, the NHL rejected this and instead accepted a $120 million dollar agreement from Comcast, the company that owns Versus.

It seems to me that with the NHL trying to solidify it's base in the southern U.S., that the only way to do this is to get back onto ESPN. The breadth of NHL does not have to be extensive, however, something similar to what the MLB or NHL has currently would make sense: a featured game one night a week, coverage of special events, such as the draft, playoffs, and all-star festivities. Let's not re-invent the wheel here, but just follow what has worked.

If Gary Bettman wants to be remembered as the Commissioner who lead the league into new American markets, then this is an obvious step to take. Then again, Gary Bettman isn't one to follow what's obvious (like to bring the game to markets where the sport is already thriving), so who knows when the NHL will return, if ever, to the U.S.'s largest sports network.

Why the Phil Kessel Trade Still Makes Sense

The debate around the Phil Kessel trade should start heating up again as we near the end of the season while fans and pundits alike keep a close eye on the standings. If the pick the Maple Leafs traded to the Bruins for Kessel ends up being a lottery pick, the same old, tired rants from local journalists will echo far and wide: the Leafs always trade away draft picks that could have, should have, would have resulted in a future NHL star. Some of these blowhards will mention the Tom Kurvers trade that netted the New Jersey Devils Scott Niedermayer as proof of this.
But instead of being cynical - let’s look at some real numbers and use actual logic to analyze this situation. Don’t get me wrong – decades of not seeing the Stanley Cup hoisted in Toronto makes me cynical too, but numbers don’t lie.






Kessel scored 36 goals last year for the Bruins in only 70 games. Pessimists will say he was with Marc Savard, and that Leafs will never be able to provide him such a set up man – but he has already proven that theory wrong. On a team like the Leafs, lining up with various linemates, Kessel has potted 28 goals in 60 games. He has done this without the benefit of a full training camp and with the all the pressure placed on him by the media and fans alike. Essentially, last year’s stats and this year’s numbers show that he is a 35 to 40 goal scorer in the NHL. Both years have him at a pace of about a goal every 2 games. That’s just ridiculously good, and puts him in the goal scoring elite of the league, period. Not everyone is a natural goal scorer – Kessel is. He’s been a little streaky but he finds the back of the net. He is also leading the team in points with 51, Power Play Goals with 8 and Game Winning Goals with 5. Natural goal scorers tend to lead their teams in PPGs and GWGs.

And 40 goal scorers do not grow on trees. He is only 22 yrs old, and even with a reduced goal scoring pace, it is not only possible that he will become a 400 goal scorer but even a 500 goal scorer in this league. Such achievements put him into some pretty elite company. Draft day never guarantees a pick that will achieve such numbers and never will. Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, two of the likely lottery picks, may end up being solid NHLers, even All-Stars, but Kessel is a proven commodity. At the age of 22 has 94 goals to his credit.

The cynics will disagree and say that Kessel is still unproven, and that such lofty projections do not take into account the fact some insiders feel has been and will be prone to injury. But what guarantees does the draft offer you?

It has been a long time since the Leafs had such a young gun who constantly finds the back of the net. Not every high draft pick results in such a talent, and many first rounders struggle to maintain an NHL career of any note. Kessel will likely have 100 NHL goals to his credit before this season’s out, while all the projected lottery picks will have yet to crack an NHL lineup.

Olympic Recap - Top 10 Moments

#10 - Typical Canadian Weather? For all those around the world that thought that we lived in igloos and that the Olympics would be held in balmy -20 C weather, boy, were you in for a shock. These Olympics will go down as the warmest and wettest winter Olympics to date. Snow had to be flown in, fog and rain postponed many events, and temperatures reached the mid-teens during the opening week.

# 9 - Olympic Gaffs: The dignitaries were late, we wouldn't let you anywhere near our torch, and one of the flame's arms wouldn't go up, but it wouldn't be a Canadian Olympics without something going wrong. In the typical Canadian spirit, we poked fun at that and let Catrina Le May Doan finally light the cauldron.

# 8 - Snow and Ski Cross Excitement: Were these sports fun to watch or what? We saw race after race of exciting skiing and snowboarding. All the athletes pushed the limits and were thrilling to watch. Three Canadian's won medals, while a fourth just crashed short of the line trying to propel himself onto the podium.

# 7 - Charles Hamelin and Marianne St-Gelais: How fun was it to watch these speed skaters cheer for their respective partner? One of my favorite moments was watching a replay of Hamelin's first gold medal with an inset of St-Gelais reactions as the race went on. When the race ended, St-Gelais jumped the bleachers to give Hamelin a kiss. When all was said and done, the couple ended the games collecting two golds and a silver medal medal.

# 6 - Jon Montgomery's the Coolest: It seemed that the turning point of the lull in Canadian spirit at these games came with Jon Montgomery's golden performance. We watched him speed down the treacherous luge track four times with a cool swagger that made him an instant fan favorite. His celebratory beer-guzzling not only raised money for charity, but also landed him a spot on the Oprah Winfrey Show!

# 5 - The Women Party Hearty: A lot of people seemed to get their panties in a knot when pictures were leaked of the woman's gold-medal hockey team celebrating their victory with some beer and stogies on the ice. To all those who are upset by this, where were you during Jon Montgomery's beer blast? The point is that I hate the double standard here. The team fought hard to win gold and then did what any Canadian team (professional or otherwise) would do after a game: celebrate with a cold one. Nothing wrong with that.

*On a side note, if Dr. Jacques Rogge ever decides to read this blog, I hope you were joking when you said you opposed seeing woman's hockey in the Olympics because of the lack of parity. How else do you expect the game to grow if it cannot be showcased on the international stage? If you're going to remove sports because of the lack of parity, why not take a look at gymnastics, for example, which is dominated by China, the U.S., and former Soviet countries. What about the men's aerials? If you weren't Canadian, American, Chinese, or Belorussian...tough break, cause you didn't crack the top 12. Cut out the hypocrisy please.

# 4 -Curling Domination and Spontaneous Oh Canada's: As a long time curling fan, the Canadian teams did not disappoint. We were treated to phenomenal shot-making. Kevin Martin's rink proved its dominance, while Cheryl Bernard was inches away from a gold. Even better were the fans at the curling centre. While some criticized the fans for showing bad bonspiel etiquette, I was actually glad that the game was attracting new fans. The fans twice broke-out into a roaring rendition of Oh Canada, that touched the players and the rest of the country.

# 3 - Alex Bilodeau Gets the Ball Rolling: With one skier to go, the country held it's collective breath, wondering if a near-flawless performance by Bilodeau would finally get the monkey of our backs. When the results were in, Guilbaut Colas's efforts weren't enough and Canada finally won it's first gold medal on home soil! We were all swept up in the fervor of Bilodeau's victory. What made the story even more impressive was learning how he took up skiing so that he could participate in an activity with his older brother, Frederic, who has cerebral palsy. Watching Frederic cheer his brother to victory was amazing.

# 2 - Men's Hockey Gold: I spent the entire two weeks defending Sydney Crosby's play. "He doesn't have to score a dozen goals", I reminded everyone, "he's doing the little things right. He'll come through when it counts most, don't worry, he want's it (the gold) badly." Sure enough, I had just repeated this sentiment as Crosby tried to split the D in overtime, when The Kid popped in a Jerome Iginla pass to end the game, beat the Americans, and re-claimed our gold medal. The men's team may not have had a dominant tournament, but kudos goes out to each and every player who, by the end of the tournament, found their role and played to win (thus proving my hypothesis in a previous blog :p). As a Toronto resident, this is the closest thing to a Stanley Cup that I'll see this year.

# 1 - Joanie Rochette's Bronze Medal: After Rochette's short program, I was expecting Tom Hanks to jump out from behind the couch and yell at me: "there's no crying in figure skating". I will never understand how she was able to skate two excellent routines just days after unexpectedly losing her mother. Simply incredible. Kudos to the C.O.C. for recognizing her achievement and appointing her Canada's flag bearer for the closing ceremony.

Thus ends a great 17-days. Congratulations to VANOC for putting on a great show and to all the international athletes for exciting the world. Now back to reality: the Leafs and Carolina play Tuesday night in an epic eastern conference battle. No. That's a lie. But how can I go back to the Leafs after averaging 10 hours a day glued to Olympic coverage?

Why The Ladies Make Me Cry

In what will undoubtedly be one of my shortest blogs going forward, I would be negligent in my duties as an internet blogger if I didn't acknowledge the awe-inspiring performance of Joannie Rochette last night in the ladies' short program. We all know her heartbreaking story. Needless to say that I was moved by her performance. Not only did she somehow gather the strength to compete yesterday just two days after the passing of her mother, but she mustered all of her focus and energy to skate flawlessly. Whether or not she wins a medal is irrelevant at this point. What she has done embodies the spirit of the Olympics. Her skate yesterday should be the story of these games. Congratulations Joannie on being a true Olympic Champion!

5 Ways Canada Can Still Take Gold in Vancouver – Roberto Luongo and TOI are the Keys to the Gold Medal

Team Canada has had a rough ride through the preliminary portion of the Olympic schedule, but now comes crunch time. Here we offer up the ways we see Canada walking away with the gold on home ice:

1. Ride Luongo to the Promised Land – This is a moot point now as it has been confirmed that Roberto is getting the start tonight. Lose, we’re out – win, he obviously stays in for the rest of the tournament - minus an atrocious effort against a weaker German side. Brodeur is arguably the greatest goalie ever, but this is Luongo’s chance to shine and take his place at the top for years to come. Plus, he is on his ice in Vancouver – his comfort level with the ice surface, the bounces and the boards can only be a benefit.

2. Shorten the Bench – This is the perennial problem with Canadian hockey teams: too much talent. But we cannot have Crosby averaging 15 minutes a game when he has been use to 23+ his entire life. Elite hockey players need their TOI to be higher, period. They need to get a feel for the flow of the game and you cannot do that with 4 equal lines – Babcock needs to decide on 3 lines tops. Crosby and the San Jose line need to be given the extra time at the expense of others. The defense needs to be shortened too. Babcock has to pick his 6 D horses and ride them.

3. Use the Body – Essentially, start playing the Canadian game. Has there really been enough of this in the first few efforts? Our guys are big and we are playing on an NHL surface, so the historical excuse of not being able to adjust our game to the bigger European surfaces is out the window.

4. Get in Front of the Net - Watching the last game was like watching the Leafs for most of the season. Canada peppered Miller with the rubber and lost. Most coaches will tell you, if you are getting over 40 shots a game, you are not getting in front of the net enough. The style of play that keeps guys in front allows for the skirmishes and battles that result in goals at the expense of high shot totals.

5. Bag the Ego – Now this ties into #2 and the shortened bench, but it is the key to the gold medal. Some guys are going to have accept reduced minutes and Babcock has to tell some forwards they are going to be 4th liners with minimal TOI. We need the Michael Peca, Eric Brewer and Adam Foote types we had in 2002, to play key roles while letting 3 lines and 6 D stay on the ice.

Tell us what you think.

Close the phones for the Closers

It's that time of the year again: opening day for spring training. (yay!) Today, pitchers and catchers officially report to camp to undertake their physicals. Obviously, the most significant change with Jays this season is no Roy Halladay. While my heart is certainly heavy without seeing the good doctor in camp, I'm also excited at the prospect of seeing the young guns in the Jays organization get a shot to take the reigns this season.

Many observers have commented at the fact that GM Alex Anthopoulos seems to have gone out of his way to acquire pitching depth and thus, should be in a position to trade that depth for more hitting power.

However, pulling the trigger on a move like this would be haphazard and reckless. The abundance of depth in the Jays bullpen is needed now more than ever and AA's best move should be to turn off his blackberry and stand pat for now.

With the starting rotation appearing as though it will consist of a mixture of young arms and players returning from injury, one would have to assume that at least, in the early going, the Jays won't be looking at these players to pitch late into games.

This is where the plethora of pitching depth in the bullpen is most valuable: If the young pitchers can give the club 6 innings of work and allow the Jays to stay in the game, imagine what the stability that a bullpen consisting of Downs, Frasor, and Gregg could bring to the table. Having these veteran pitchers come in to pitch the 7th, 8th, and 9th to close out a game could give the Jays an extra 10-15 wins this season.

Most would say that because Downs and Frasor make a combined $6.5 million this season, that now is the time that the Jays should dump this salary and get some hitting prospects in return.

The time to make this move isn't now though. Perhaps nearing the trade deadline, if the Jays starting staff have round into shape or other relief pitchers prove that they can pitch well (Jeremy Accardo, for example), then that would be the time to re-evaluate whether or not some of the pitching depth could be moved out to help the team. Until then, I'm more than happy to keep all of the veteran pitching in the bullpen regardless of their salary. Those without options should be sent to Triple AAA, knowing that with an injury or a bad start to the season, they are just a call-up away.

Who makes the Jays' opening day pitching rotation? The Toronto Sports Guys will save that for another blog. Until then, we would love for you to comment on who you think should take the five starting rotation spots and the seven spots in the bullpen.

Don't Count on me to Check the Medal Standings

With the Blue Jays evaluating their pitching depth, the Leafs not having dropped a game in over a week (season record), and the Raptors standing pat at the trade deadline, my concentration has shifted to the Olympics.

I have to say, I'm disappointed at all this pressure being placed on our Canadian athletes to "Own the Podium" and our desire to top the Americans in the overall medal standings.

Sure, it would be nice to beat the Americans, but what's the big deal if we don't? Doesn't it count that our athletes are preforming at the top of their games and we've been blessed with nine days of superb athleticism? Isn't it humbling to hear the stories of athletes such as Alex Biladou and Jon Montgomery make it to the top of the podium, without having to be constantly reminded that "we've lost a medal we were guaranteed at winning"?

Firstly, nothing's a guarantee; that's why the races are run. Secondly, how can we be expected to be at the top when we just don't have the numbers to do it.

Using a salary-cap-esque analysis, Canada's population is roughly 34 million compared to that of the U.S. at 330 million. Obviously, the Americans are drawing from a much larger talent pool. Secondly, the American investment in their sports is at least 10 times more than what we invest, so much so that their athletes are heavily subsidized by the government and private sponsors to make training a job. While that is to say that the Canadian government is not doing their share, proportionately, we cannot even compete with American investment.

All I'm asking is for is to be proud of our athletes achievements thus far in the Olympics without worrying about whether we medal or not. Be proud for all the athletes, athletes such as skiier Eric Guay, who "wasn't expected to do much", yet has finished 5th place in both the downhill and the Super G - personal bests for Guay at the Olympics.

Stop handicapping our chances at medals for every single event, such as today's woman's 1500 metre speed-skating event, where Canada "could win multiple medals". I'm sick of hearing the analysts open their broadcasts with "...and this event is where Canada is not expected to win a medal." How many casual viewers would just groan and change the channel so as to not waste their time watching another hopeless event.

Let's just watch the events, cheer for our athletes, and count on them to give the performance on their lives.

Why Team Canada Won't Win Gold

After watching the first two games the Canada has played in the Olympic IIHF tournament, it's clear what the glaring deficiency that will prevent them from winning gold is: too much star power. The problem so far with their play through 2 games is that they are being too cute with the puck and not doing the little things right: get the puck deep into the zone, pressure the defense, establish a good cycle, set-up plays in the slot, and get traffic in front of the net; in other words, playing the Canadian game.

The flashes of brilliance seen so far (the 2nd period of the Norway game and the 2 goals created by the San Jose line against Switzerland) came as a direct result of playing the same style of play that I mentioned above. The rest of the time, those high-quality scoring chances have just not been there and these two Tier B teams have made a star-studded cast of Canadian players look average.

A lot of fingers are being pointed at the fact that in a short tournament such as this one, the NHL stars are still adjusting to their new line-mates and systems. I think the problem is that we have too many high-skilled players playing with one another and there is confusion among the players how a play should be finished, ergo, all of the over-passing that we've seen so far that's resulted in a defensive break-up down low. How else do you explain a player like Sydney Crosby, a 41-goal scorer in the NHL, suddenly become a pass-first player and driving to the net only once (in retaliation to receiving a high stick to the face.)?

I know that Babcock is still trying to find chemistry, but we can't be successful if he continues to roll 4 1/3 forward lines and give everyone a proportionately equal amount of ice time. If Canada is to be successful moving forward, some players will have to take less ice time to allow the more pure goal scorers more time on the ice. I think that the coaches should really try giving 2 lines the majority of the ice time, while limiting the remaining seven players to roles that we would expect 3rd and 4th line NHLers to fulfill: bring a solid defensive game when on the ice and provide a few high-energy minutes.

What could be done? First (although this is a moot point), some defensive-minded forwards should have been named to team, a la Ryan Smyth and Shane Doan. Since that didn't happen Babcock should give most of the ice time to the San Jose line, by far the best offensive players through 2 games, as well as the Crosby, Nash, and Toews/Burgeron/Iginla (whoever Babcock deems the most compatible). I think that Perry and Getzlaf bring a physical presence to their game that could be suited for this 3rd-line roll. Players like Richards, Morrow , Staal, and Bergeron can kill penalties, play well defensively, and can bring a high tempo game that allows Canada to open up the forecheck and work the puck in the corners

In my heart, I'd like to think that the route Canada will take to the gold medal is similar to the path taken in Salt Lake City that saw the Canadians start slow, but get better as the tournament progressed. That being said, unless the coaching staff sets a more rigid shift-rotation and the players will start playing their game, it could be another early exit for the boys in white and red.

Pony Up!

Do not expect any big trades to go down before the NHL-imposed Olympic trade freeze beginning at 3pm on February 12th. It would make absolutely no business sense for a GM to force something when a little patience could pay off by waiting until after the break. As the league shuts-down for the next two weeks, it shouldn’t be surprising to think that GMs will use the time off to re-evaluate their rosters before looking to make any upgrades. Nor would it make much hockey sense either. While true that there are quite a few games on the NHL schedule between now and Sunday, a new arrival would have little time to build any real chemistry with his new line mates prior to packing up for Vancouver, or whatever other destinations the non-Olympians are off to.

With that said, a minor deal for prospects or some spare parts makes some sense. But any deal with real market value is better left until after the break when GMs have had the opportunity to pick each others’ brains, and see what they can really get in return for a valued asset. One such asset the Leafs currently have is Alexei Ponikarovsky. A solid 20-goal scorer on a basement-dwelling team has already been reported to have many teams willing to take a ride on the Pony, but what is he worth?

Bob McKenzie over at tsn.ca believes Pony is worth the same price that the Habs paid for Dominic Moore; a 2nd rounder. Other rumours have the asking price for Pony at a 2nd rounder plus a prospect or roster player. A hasty move gets the Leafs a 2nd rounder, but we think that Pony is worth more if patience prevails. Forget comparing him to Moore, since the former Bud is now off the market and the clock will start ticking louder in the brains of GMs looking to add a bona-fide NHLer for a playoff run. So let’s compare Pony to another commodity which is rumoured to be worth a 2nd rounder and is still available: Andy Sutton of the Islanders. Yes, he is a shut-down Defenseman, as opposed to a 20-goal scorer, but: 1) both have GMs talking right now, 2) both are UFA’s and 3) all teams that are looking to go deep in the playoffs will want to add depth in scoring or acquire a shut-down defenseman. The impending lure of signing an unrestricted free agent cannot be understated in the cap era either as teams are looking to shed salary - so let’s look at the numbers:

ANDY SUTTON, Pos: D, Age: 35, PTS: 11 (4G, 7A), PIM: 73, +/-: -3, Salary: 3.5 mil, Cap Hit: 3 mil

ALEX PONIKAROVSKY, Pos: LW, Age: 29, PTS: 41 (19G, 22A), PIM: 44, +/-: 5, Salary: 2.5 mil, Cap Hit: 2.015 mil

*20% of the Cap Hit is picked up by the new team

The main thing to focus on as we are comparing a D to a LW is the cap hit and the overall impact you think the player will have in a playoff run. Pony is a lower cap hit, and Pony should end up with 25+ goals and 60 pts. on a below-average team. If a team is in need of a shut-down D-man then Sutton is worth the 2nd rounder, but if my team is going to make a run, I look at Pony and think he is definitely worth a 2nd plus a prospect or roster player. If a team is looking to shed some salary, they are more likely to want to part with a roster player anyways. Do any teams fit that bill? We would suggest: Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Nashville. Do not be surprised to see any team in need of scoring depth pony up with more than a 2nd rounder, but only if patience prevails down at MLSE.

Sources:

http://tsn.ca/blogs/bob_mckenzie/?id=309857

http://www.islanderspointblank.com/2010/02/interest-intensifies-in-sutton-rolosonnyi-could-benefit-from-bidding-war-before-deadline/