Tonight is the Toronto Blue Jays State of the Franchise event at the Rogers Centre.  For the first time ever, thanks to some generosity, I will be in attendance.  Judging by the current case of the shakes that I have contracted, I am pretty excited.

Part of the gala is a Q&A with Alex Anthopoulos, John Farrell, and Paul Beeston.  Below are some early betting lines for what types of questions will be asked by season ticket holders. 

If only you could actually bet on these things….

Subject: Yu Darvish, and the failure to sign him

Will it be Asked:Yes, a 500 Level Fan guarantee

Why: Most fans were pretty upset the night that Texas won the posting process, and most remain upset, especially with AA’s refusal to confirm if the Jays were actually even in the running.

Subject: Prince Fielder, and the failure to sign him

Will it be Asked: Absolutely

Why: Similar to Darvish, fans wanted Prince.  They wanted him batting behind Bautista.  They wanted him at first instead of Lind.   They wanted him in a Blue Jay uniform for many, many years.  They didn’t get him.

Subject:  “Payroll Parameters”

Will it be Asked: 100% yes

Why: Some believe the Jays should have a $120-million or higher.  I think at least 80 of them will want to ask about it.

Subject: Future at the Catcher Position – Travis D’Arnaud or J.P. Arencibia

Will it be Asked: Likely not

Why: Not to say that that isn’t an important subject – just not tonight.

Subject: LF – Thames or Snider?

Will it be Asked: 60% sure

Why: Snider continues to be a hot topic amongst Jays fans, and Eric Thames suddenly grew 38-inch Hulk Hogan-esque biceps this offseason….

Subject: Tony Fernandez and his future with the Jays front office

Will it be Asked: Only would be asked by me…

Why: Nobody cares about Tony, my hero, and nothing has ever been said about him joining the front office.  Still, if I have just the right amount of beers…

Subject: Edwin Encarnacion

Will it be Asked: No, not at all.

Why:  Similar to the Tony question, I’m not sure that anybody really cares that much about Edwin.  But for some strange reason I continue to have an odd fascination with the man.  I want to know if AA envisions Edwin as a front-of-the-order hitter and a 30 HR threat like I do…

Number of times AA gets away with a coy “non-answer” to a challenging question with a sly smile and a laugh.

Over/Under: 38.5

Bet: Over

I think Anthopoulos could actually get out of any situation he wanted to, all while making whoever he was arguing or speaking or debating with think that they won. 

I’ll have the results to the betting above, as well as a full recap of the State of the Franchise, tomorrow on 500 Level Fan.

If you’ve noticed anybody around you acting weird, don’t worry – today is Friday the 13th, a day full of superstition.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia is what the fear of this day is known as, and a quick look at the baseball history books shows that many major league GM’s might be afflicted with it.

Today marks the 67th Friday the 13th since 1973 (thanks Wikipedia!).  On the 66 prior Friday the 13th’s, baseball reference tells me that there have been a total of 159 transactions in the major leagues.  And while an average of 2.4 transactions a day might sound like a good amount, keep this in mind: on what is being described as a pretty slow offseason, there were six transactions made on Wednesday (January 11th) of this week alone.

If we only include Friday the 13th’s during the season (i.e. April through September), the number drops to just over two per day (71 moves in 35 days).

On top of those numbers, a look at each of those moves tells us that the overwhelming majority were minor…very minor.  Trades involving fringe prospects and bench players, and several lower tier players being signed to free agent contracts.  A few moves of note from Friday the 13th’s past include the Rangers trading future Oakland ace Dave Stewart to Philadelphia in 1985, the Yankees signing amateur free agent Bernie Williams (also in ’85), Seattle trading David Ortiz to Minnesota for Dave Hollins (1996), and Cleveland trading away future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry to Texas in 1975.  However, perhaps the most notable move ever made on a Friday the 13th happened to be made by your Toronto Blue Jays.

Looking back through the annals of Friday the 13th’s, the Jays have made a total of five transactions in their history.  Four of them were inconsequential:

- 1979: signed Jackson Todd

- 1994: signed an over-the-hill Dave Righetti

- 2006: traded Scott Schoeneweis to Cincinnati for Trevor Lawhorn

- 2009: signed the lovable but injury prone Dirk “The Garfoose” Hayhurst

But the fifth transaction, occurring on Friday the 13th 1996, was one of the biggest moves in franchise history.  On that day the Toronto Blue Jays announced the signing of pitcher Roger Clemens.  That one turned out to be a pretty good move – for both Toronto and Roger.

But why, other than the moves mentioned above, is there so little activity of consequence on Friday the 13th?  Are MLB GM’s superstitious?  Are they afraid of making big moves – afraid that something negative will happen?  Or are they just simply afraid of the spirit of Jason Voorhees?

Hard to say. 

But don’t fear.  There are two more Friday the 13th’s in 2012, and both fall during the baseball season.  One is in April, where we are likely to see little movement.  But the second falls in July, just a few weeks before the trade deadline.

Will Jason prevent anything big from happening to contending teams on that day?

I’ve always prided myself on being a man of the people, and have tried to run my blog under one simple motto:

“Ask and you shall receive.”

Well – I have had a request: Bring back the mail (male) bag!

So my friends, sit back relax, and read on.  If you’re lucky, maybe your question will be answered (and since I only had five people ask, I guarantee you it will be), in this, the fourth ever 500 Level Fan Reader Male Bag.  (FYI – despite the name of the post, women are welcome to ask questions!)

Here we go:

We begin with fellow Blue Jay blogger – and one of the best in the biz – @BlueJayHunter, who asks “I have a short and simple question – what the heck do the Blue Jays do with the second base position?”

A: Ian sent this question on Friday afternoon, and the next day Toronto acquired Luis Valbuena from Cleveland.  But is this really the answer at second base?  Last year he only played in 17 games in the majors and put up a .506 OPS.  His career OPS of .630 also doesn’t really inspire much hope.  But on the positive side, he has fared pretty well in the Arizona Fall League, put up an .848 OPS in 113 triple-A games last year, and just turned 26 so he’s young.  And on top of that, several Indians bloggers are less than thrilled by the move from Cleveland’s perspective.  Maybe a change of scenery is al he needed?  I’d almost rather have him than overpay for Kelly Johnson.  So my guess is that Valbuena gets the first shot.  Another guess?  Hechavarria moves to second and cracks the Jays roster later in the year.  Or the unthinkable: Edwin Encarnacion shocks the world and unleashes his inner-Alomar.  A man can dream right?

Alright, moving on.  Next we have long time reader @TOSocialEvents with a whopping five questions!

Q: Does Travis Snider play better with or without his terrible moustache?

A: I’m not going to look at the stats to answer this, though admittedly they might help.  I think there is no doubt – the moustache must….STAY!  Snider looks terrible with the moustache – that much is obvious.  But remember when he hit a bomb in the Cito Gaston farewell game with a fake moustache on?  Now imagine that was a real ‘stache?   Upper deck blast.

Q: Who has a better moustache, Burt Reynolds or Cito Gaston?

A: Speaking of Cito, and sticking with the Movember train…as much as I love Cito, this is a no brainer.  Burt is a man among men.  Nothing beats it.

Q: If the Jays won the World Series and you were asked to host the after party at the parade, what would your bar options look like?

A: Good question.  There are many options for this.  You can go classy and pick a nice club downtown.  You go can with a Jays friendly bar like Opera Bobs or the Loose Moose.  But I think the best option is one that has cheap beer, a lot of room, and a place where men can urinate in a tiled trough with a waterfall flusher.  There is only bar in Toronto that can offer all of that.  I’m of course talking about The Dog’s Bollocks on Queen West.  Go there.  Trust me.  (Make sure you’re drunk first though…)

Q: In your honest opinion when will the Blue Jays next make the playoffs?

A: Hard to say right now, cause we don’t know what off-season moves Anthopoulos has up his sleeves, and we also don’t know when the additional Wild Card birth will come into play.  The fan in me says the Jays will get in this year.  The realist says it takes one more.  Book your playoff tickets for 2013.

Q: Who is the worst player to ever wear a Blue Jays uniform?

A: No-brainer: Kevin Cash.  This man sucked.  His career average as a Jay was .173 and his career OPS .485.  He was AWFUL.

Continuing forward, we move to an interesting question from an old classic and faithful reader @altrendy, who asks “George Bush owned the Rangers at one point?  What!  Tell us about Bush as an owner, Fan!  Please!”

A: Sure thing Trendos.  I’m not the biggest expert on the subject, but apparently good ol’ W bought into the Rangers in 1989, using borrowed money.  I found a few different sources on the story, with one saying he borrowed $800,000 and another saying $600,000.  The bottom line was that he was instrumental in bringing together 70 investors to form an ownership group, mainly due to his influence as the son of the president of the USA.  He added a powerful proviso in the deal that would see his ownership stake increase from 1% upwards as the original partners got their investments out.  When he ended up selling in 1998, he made over $15-million.  Of course, this all went down before he became president, but still – can you imagine if Dalton McGuinty, or Stephen Harper, or Jean Chretien owned the Jays?  Weird.  Take a look at this article for a more in depth look at Bush, and the scandal his ownership created.

Oh – another serious question from Mr. Trendy: “Are there any baseball players who are involved with crime outside of gambling?  NFL and NBA players get a bad reputation, but does baseball have a seedy underbelly that is hidden better than these two leagues?”

A: Wow – I don’t know.  Is that OK as an answer?  I know that baseball had a HUGE drug problem in the ’80′s as cocaine was running rampant through the league.  Players like Keith Hernandez, Tim Raines, and Dwight Gooden were all implicated.  Then of course there was the whole steroids thing.  Can’t say I”m aware of anything heavier than that.  Maybe they just do a better job of hiding it…I’ll keep you posted.

Next, let’s move to our pal @JPS_82, who excitedly asks: “Fan!  Did you see my retweet from the Big Hurt?”

A: Why yes, yes I did.  The following was an actual Twitter exchange from Saturday afternoon:

@JPS_82: @TheBigHurt_35 who do you like in the shortened NBA season? Are your Hawks and Joe Johnson taking the east this year?

@TheBigHurt_35: @JPS_82 No the Heat will rebound this year!!!

Congratulations pal. 

Finally, we end this edition of the “Male” Bag with two from @dsharpdavis:

Q: What do you think will happen to the Jays current “farm focus” if MLB decides to allow a second wildcard in 2012, instead of 2013?  Will they be more likely to go for a guaranteed big bat like Ortiz?

A: I don’t think so, and here’s why.  Alex Anthopoulos doesn’t want to simply make the playoffs.  He also doesn’t simply want to win the World Series.  (Though, obviously, both would be nice.)  What he wants to do is build a perennial contender that has a change to make the playoffs and win the World Series EVERY YEAR.  Signing Ortiz might be beneficial for 2012, but it also might be more harmful in the long run.  I think he wants to avoid giving multi-million dollar contracts to players on the downside of their careers…

And the grand finale…

Q: If you could turn one Blue Jay from the 2011 roster into a woman and seduce her for a night, who would it be?

A: Edwin Encarnacion – Queen of the Night.

With about a week between posts, many loyal 500 Level Fan readers were wondering where I was.  Was this the end of 500 Level Fan?  Was the site shutting down?  Was I signed by a national publication that would make writing about baseball my full-time job?

Well – No, No, and sadly, not even close.

On the weekend, September 10th, Mrs. 500 Level Fan and I actually became Mr. and Mrs., with the long anticipated nuptials out in wine country Niagara.  Despite such luminaries as Alex Anthopoulos, Edwin Encarnacion, and J.P. Arencibia deciding not to show up, the festivities were amazing.  It’s true what they say – it is the greatest day of your life.  It was for me.

But because of the wedding, and our upcoming honeymoon to England and Spain, this will the final post for the 2011 Blue Jays season. 

It was a great ride this year.  The explosiveness of Opening Day, the madman style wheeling and dealing of the silent assassin Alex Anthopoulos, the dynamic first month of phenom Brett Lawrie, and another MVP-style campaign from Jose Bautista have brought baseball excitment back to Toronto.  The Jays, in my book anyways, are serious contenders in 2012.

And what a way to finish the season for me!  I was there to see Lawrie’s “tongue-wagging” HR on Labour Day.  I was there with my nephew at his first ever Jays game to see (most of) the stirring comeback win on Wednesday against Boston.  I was there with a whole slew of family on Thursday to see Ricky dominate the Red Sox.  Add to that the ninth inning comeback on the wedding day and another comback on Sunday, and it was a great week to be a fan.  (We’ll just forget that last nights 18-6 debacle ever happened – except for Bautista’s BOMB against Tim Wakefield).

But don’t worry my friends – this isn’t the end of the road for 500 Level Fan.  Though I’ll miss the last few weeks of the Blue Jays season by drinking red wine on a beach in Spain, I’ll be back in plenty of time for the playoffs.  When I return you can expect the same level of witty, sarcastic, and poorly written commentary on things like:

- postseason predictions

- a look back at my pre-season predictions

- a peek towards Toronto’s offseason

- what beer I envision each member of the Jays drinking in the winter

So thanks for all of your support.  Hopefully you’ll still be here when I return.

Sincerely,

500 Level Fan

To show that I am a man of my word, I have changed the name of 500 Level Fan’s reader mailbag from mail to male.  Please refer to the second ever mailbag (here) for clarification.

So, with that said…welcome to the third ever 500 Level Fan reader Male Bag.  The inbox has begun to bulge with questions, meaning it’s time to make the fans happy and give them what they want.

All four of them…

Let’s start with first time question-poser, the alpha male himself @TweetsByRules:

Q: What are your thoughts on the Kelly Johnson trade?

A: I like it, because to me it is basically risk-free.  I have heard many people criticize the deal, with comments like “Johnson is only hitting .209″, or “Johnson’s OBP is only .287″,or “I love Johnny Mac”.  Yes friends – all of those things are true.  I do love Johnny Mac.  I will miss him.  But let’s be honest: he wasn’t going to help the Jays win the World Series this year.  And yes, Kelly Johnson is having an off year. But he is only one year removed from a .284 / .370 / .496 / .865 slash line, with 26 HR.  Those numbers are pretty good.

The deal basically boils down to this:

Best case scenario, Johnson reverts back to his 2010 form and crushes the ball in Toronto.  He likes the team and the city, and decides to re-sign here next year at what should be a fairly decent price seeing how much he has struggled.  AA really likes this guy, and AA is rarely wrong.

Worst case scenario, Johnson still performs at a sub-par level, and we are left with a guy who has similar stats to Aaron Hill.

Who we would been left with anyways.

Besides, it sounds like both Hill and Johnny may return next year anyways….

Which leads us to this question from a man who loves to tip over golf carts and lick red hot chili flakes, Mr. @altrendy

Q: If (as is widely rumoured) Aaron Hill and/or Johnny Mac end up re-signing with the Jays in 2012, what was the point of the Kelly Johnson trade?

A: Yes, good question.  You’d likely have to ask Anthopoulos this one.  But, you asked me, so here is my opinion on the issue.  As said before, AA likes Kelly Johnson.  He tried to sign him in 2009 but lost out to Arizona.  I’ve heard his name floated in rumours associated with the Jays for a while. So I guess the point of the trade is that he finally got his man.  From the sounds of the farewell press conference, both Hill and Johnny do seem open to re-signing with Toronto.  I would bet that Johnny will be back, as a bench player-slash-coach.  As far as Hill, well…Johnson has a month and a bit to show us what he’s got.

More from Trendos!

Q: Was the call-up of Lawrie a good thing for Colby Rasmus (timing-wise)?

A: Interesting.  Rasmus was definitely hyped in St. Louis, and then underperformed.  When AA acquired him in July, suddenly he was being hyped all over again.  Some called him the future saviour of the Jays.  The blogger-sphere gushed about him.  The Jays were widely regarded as having heavily won the deal.  Then Rasmus arrived and promptly went 0 for 12 in his first three games.  In his first seven games with the Jays he was scuffling along with a .167 AVG, .460 OPS, 0 HR, 3 RBI, and 7 K. 

But before fans had time to start irrationally hating on Rasmus, up came Brett Lawrie to take away all the hype and all the spotlight.  Since Lawrie’s arrival, Rasmus has been better (.241 AVG, .728 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI) – not fantastic, but better.  So I think that yes, it was a good thing for Colby Rasmus that Lawrie was called up when he was.

Q: With the season nearing its conclusion, how many HR will Jose Bautista end up with?

A: The million dollar question Trendos…

The Jays have played 130 games and Bautista has 37 home runs.  Going purely statistical, Bau has hit 0.28 HR a game, meaning in the last 32 games of the season it stands to reason he will hit 9 more and finish with 46. 

But I don’t want to be statistical with Bautista.  He can go for stretches were he goes cold, and then stretches where he gets hot.  He hasn’t been red hot for a while.  I think he will get red hot again, for two reasons: 1) in the last 32 games, Toronto plays 7 against Tampa, 6 against the Yankees, and 6 against Boston – rival teams.  I thinks he gets jacked up to play those guys.  2) When Bautista gets mad, he explodes (ask Luke Hochevar).  With the season winding down, there will be a lot of MVP debate.  Most will choose Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, Curtis Granderson, or Justin Verlander because they are in the playoffs.  This will make Bautista mad.

Jose finishes with 51 bombs.

Next, we hear from the Fireball-guzzling @dsharpdavis:

Q: What is a trait you’ve learned from a Jay that you’ve applied to your everyday life?  (i.e. Rauch’s use of physical threats to achieve goals).

A: I definitely don’t use the Rauch very often.  I don’t think I’d get much with my bulk.  But I think I can say I have applied the following three items to everyday life:

1 – the Bautista angry stare.  When I get mad, I quite enjoy staring down people.  It works great for road rage.  And in beer league softball.

2 – the Romero bench punch.  When I’m frustrated or something doesn’t go my way, I often pull a Romero and punch something, just like the pitcher does when is pulled from a game.  The best thing to punch is the cubicle wall at work, especially in the presence of senior management.  They like that.

3 – the Fernandez golden smile.  I try to be more and more like Tony every day.

Honourable Mention – I am a man who doesn’t swear or curse.  But if I did, I would definitely apply the Rios to my everyday life.  “Who gives a f**k!”

Finally, we move on to a man from the West, a man who loves the bud as much as the next guy, and man who has the biggest man crush on Alex Rodriguez in the history of Earth – @TheCraiger:

Q: Based on his current pace, where will A-Rod finish up relative to the games all-time greats (Ruth, Williams, Mays, Bonds, Ripken, Berra, etc..)?  First ballot Hall of Famer?  Home Run King?  What effect will steroid era and his participation in it have on his hall of fame chances?

 A: Oh Sauny, you and your A-Rod infatuation!  But it is actually a good question.  Until I really checked into the numbers, I didn’t realize just how good of a player A-Rod has been for his career.

In terms of Baseball Reference WAR, A-Rod is currently ranked 15th of all time for offensive players with a 107.2 WAR.  The top-5 are Babe Ruth (164.6), Ty Cobb (156.0), Barry Bonds (151.4), Willie Mays (136.2), and Hank Aaron (130.1).  Yes A-Rod is slowing down, and yes he is aging (currently 35 years old), but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he plays another five seasons and puts up a WAR of 5-ish each year.  That would propel him past Hank Aaron into 5th.

In terms of home runs, Rodriguez has 626, 6th all time, and only 136 behind Bonds for first.  Again, he will need to play for five more season and average 28 HR a year to break the record – but that is entirely possible if he stays healthy (and out of the poker rooms…).  He’s only finished a season with fewer than 30 HR once in the last 15, though this year due to injury he only has 13.  I think he can do it.

The last parts of the question are tough to answer, and a lot will depend on what happens to Bonds and Clemens in the upcoming years.  A-Rod was a steroid user – that is a confirmed fact.  But he came out and amitted it (albeit with much prodding from Selena Roberts), which – like it or not – will give him bonus points with voters.  To see Bonds and Clemens still denying the fact that they used steroids to this day, even though mounds and mounds of solid evidence say otherwise, is disgusting and embarrassing.  So to see how voters treat them will give us more insight on what to expect with A-Rod. 

But if you want my thoughts?  Here they are:

1. Where will he finish among the greats?  Among them.

2. First ballot hall of famer?  Yes.

3. Home run king?  Yes.

That’s it!  Keep the questions coming for next time!

1. I woke up this morning, checked the standings, and couldn’t believe what I saw.  Yes, I knew what the Pirates were doing this year, but to actually see that the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place – in print with my own two eyes! – was shocking.  It’s one of those things that even though I know it to be true, I still don’t believe it is.  With a record of 50-44, the Pirates are a half game ahead of Milwaukee, and in first place this late in the season for the first time since 1997.  It took them until September to win their 50th game last year, and they now have three more victories than the Blue Jays.  Crazy.

2. Their are plenty of ties between this years Pirates team and the Jays.  Lyle Overbay plays first for Pittsburgh.  Chase d’Arnaud, brother of Jays minor league catcher Travis and former college teammate of Eric Thames, plays third.  Long-time Jays coach Nick Leyva coaches third.

3. Of course, the most important tie between the clubs for Jays fans happens to be a man named Jose Bautista, who the Jays acquired from Pittsburgh in 2008 for Robinzon Diaz.  That worked out pretty well…

4. Speaking Bam Bam Bautista, the Jays slugger makes his return tonight from the ankle injury he suffered on Thursday.  Replays looked pretty scary, a near 90 degree bend of the ankle, leading some to speculate that a trip to the DL was in the cards.  Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

5. In order to give his ankle a bit of a rest, Bautista returns tonight as DH instead of 3B. 

6. Jose has DH-ed once this year, when he returned from a back injury on May 8th.  He went 1 for 4 with a 2-run HR in that game.

7. With Bau at DH, there is a bit of a lineup shuffle tonight.  Edwin returns to third to replace Bau.  Eric Thames, who had been DH-ing on the weekend, moves to RF.  Travis Snider will make his first career start in CF.  Snider has played all of 5 innings in centre in his career (all this year).  Many think he might wind up there eventually, so tonight is a good “let’s see how he does” chance.

8. With Snider in CF, that means the hugely disappointing Rajai Davis will be on the bench tonight.  His .233 average and .605 OPS are career worsts, and with 25 steals, he has a long way to go to hit the 60 mark that many (including myself) thought he would reach. 

9. But as disappointing as Davis has been he is far from the Jays most disappointing player.  That nod goes to Aaron Hill, who has followed up last years horrendous season by putting up an even worse OPS and only 4 HR.  Awful.

10.  That 2B performance makes us long for the days of Roberto Alomar, the iconic second baseman who will now have his number 12 retired by the Jays.  The ceremony (announced today) will take place before the game on July 31.

11. Alomar, of course, helped the Jays to back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.  But his most famous moment was likely his HR off Dennis Eckersley in the ’92 ALCS,

12. 1992, coincidentally, was also the last season that the Pittsburgh Pirates finished over .500.  Until, maybe, this year.  At least that’s what the standings tell me…

Since releasing the first 500 Level Fan reader mailbag a few months ago, the 500 Level Fan inbox has become flooded with questions and queries just begging for another one.  (Of course by flooded I mean two emails from friends…)

Regardless, with yesterday being one of the slowest days on the sports calendar and no baseball to speak of until tonight, it’s time to roll it out.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy.  You might just learn something.

First off we hear from @TOSocialEvents, who sent in an unfathomable five questions!

Q – Who is the best player in all of baseball right now and will Jose Bautista win the MVP in 2011?

A – From the tone of that question I would assume that the asker (Mah-Cus) thinks that Bau is the best player in MLB.  I have to agree.  I thought last year he was one of the top-5 in all of baseball, and this year he is on pace for the same amount of HR, but is hitting 84 points higher!  84 points!!!!  His OBP, Slugging, and OPS are also higher than last year, and with 5 steals, he just might reach double digits.  He also leads all of baseball with a 6.6 WAR.  So yes, I think J-Bau is the best player in all of baseball.  Will he win the 2011 MVP?  I think he should, but I bet he won’t – too many idiots will vote for Adrian Gonzalez because Boston will make the playoffs.

Q – Who is more of a lock for future success – J.P. Arencibia or Kyle Drabek?

A - Tough one, but I’ll surprise even myself and say Drabek, mainly for one reason.  Toronto traded the face of the franchise for him, and will not let him fail.  I think he has the stuff to succeed, he just needs the mental part to catch up.  I think it will in time.  J.P. will be good, but I think KD will be better.

Q – What do you think Jon Rauch, John Farrell, and Adam Lind enjoy as night caps?

A – Booze.  I love booze.  I have no inside information on this, and no real idea why I’m saying what I’m saying, but I think this: Rauch = beer, Farrell = red wine, Lind = whiskey (or something hard like gin, rum, or vodka).  No idea why.  If anybody actually knows, let me know.

Q – Is Ricky Romero one of the top-5 pitchers in baseball?  If not, how does he stack up against the top-5?

A – No, I don’t think so, but it’s not because he’s not good enough.  There are so many good pitchers right now, and if I had to pick five I’d probably choose Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, and Felix Hernandez (not to mention a ton of other guys who just miss, like Cole Hamels, Jered Weaver, CC Sabathia, and on and on…).  Romero isn’t that far away, and I think he might get there.  The main reason why he isn’t?  2009.  That was when he made his major league debut.  The others have all been around for at least two years longer.  Pitchers need time to learn the league and make adjustments. Romero’s numbers are getting better each year.  In a few more years, he could very well be there.

Q – If you went for a beer with Gregg Zaun and he asked you to order for him, what do you get?

A – Flying Monkey’s Hoptical Illusion.  Confirmed.

Moving along, from old friend @JSmart1982 (AKA Nudathan AKA Robocop) comes two questions with the same underlying theme:

Q – Do you think the Big Hurt is in the top-50 players of all time?

Q – Who is the most feared player in midseason classic history? #thebighurt

A – According to baseball reference, in terms of WAR the Big Hurt is the 64th best player of all time.  But many of the guys ahead of him played so long ago that they don’t count (at least to me).  So yes, I put the Big Hurt in the top-50 players of all time.  When he was good, he was real, real good.  Is he the most feared hitter in midseason classic history?  In 5 All-Star AB, he hit .800 with a 2.233 OPS which is pretty good.  But he looks like a big Teddy Bear at the plate, so nobody’s afraid of him.

Let’s check in with @altrendy, a man who loves gin, 500 Level Fan, and smoking pipes. 

Q – Who is Alex Andreopoulos and is he really only 39?

A - Most people first met Alex at the HR Derby, when he pitched to Jose Bautista (and dominated him).  He has been the Jays bullpen catcher for the past 9 seasons, and despite his aged and weathered appearance, is indeed only 39 years old.  He made it as far as AAA in the Milwaukee organization before calling it a career.  And he is CANADIAN!

Q – Second half questions – do you agree that the second half is really a “hitter’s half” as it has been described, and will the Jays pitching staff fall victim to late-season fatigue?

A - I’m not sure if there are any supporting numbers, but in theory there are two good reasons why the second half should be better for hitters.  1 – balls travel further in the warm summer air than they do in the crisp spring air, and 2 – pitchers generally tire as the season wears on.  Speaking of fatigue, Toronto’s relievers might fall victim to fatigue, but I don’t think the starter’s will.  Romero is a horse, Reyes left a lot of games early so his inning should be down, and both Cecil (minors) and Morrow (DL) missed time.  The biggest question mark might be Carlos Villanueva, who isn’t used to being a starter.

Q – If the Jays are going to make a run, when in their schedule do you likely see that happening?

A – Looks like their best chance is in the month of August, beginning August 5th.  That begins a stretch of:

- 3 in Baltimore against the crappy O’s

- 3 at home vs. the crappy A’s

- 3 at home against the Angels

- 3 in Seattle

- 4 more against the crappy A’s in Oakland

- 3 back at home against the crappy Royals

That is the best bet.  If all goes well, the Jays will go 15-4 in that stretch and move up the standings.

Q – Surprise prediction of the second half of the season?

A – A member of the Jays will hit for the cycle, but it won’t be who you think (Bautista, Escobar, Lind, etc.).  It will be….Johnny Mac.  Book it.

The last word for this edition of the mailbag goes to @dsharpdavis, a man who has been described as the hardest working man in show business and the biggest Gary Kendall fan in the history of Earth.

Q – Can you change the name of your column from Mailbag to Malebag, to attract the ladies?

A – I can and I will.

Q – In your opinion, which current Jay most embodies the spirit, beauty, and athleticism of the great Tony Fernandez.

A - First of all – nobody will ever be Tony.  He combined the intelligence of Einstein, the generosity of Mother Teresa, the artfulness of Michaelangelo, and the speed of Secretariat.  But on the current team I can sometimes see bits of him in Yunel Escobar.  Yunel plays shortstop with a similar flare, and was mentored by Tony in the offseason.  Esky has bit more power and not as much speed as our hero, but he comes closest to replicating the greatest player in the history of professional sports.

It’s the second day of June today, and for the first time in about three weeks the Blue Jays don’t play.  So due to the rare off day comes pure randomness in all shapes and sizes.

1. I was at the game last night with both Mrs. 500 Level Fan and with my dad.  In the fifth inning, Eric Thames, Rajai Davis, and Jayson Nix smoked badk-to-back-to-back triples (well, Nix didn’t exactly smoke his), the first time I had ever seen that.  My dad though it might be some kind of record, and I wondered how I could ever check that.  It turns out Gregor Chisholm, Toronto’s beat writer, took care of that for me.  The three straight triples was a franchise first, and hadn’t been accomplished in the major leagues since the Expos in 1981.  Thanks Gregor.

So while it’s not quite a league record it is an extremely rare feat.  Unfortunately it came with the Jays down 12-0…

2. Speaking of Rajai Davis: he was my favourite off-season acquisition and is finally starting to prove why.  His batting average is up to .275, he leads the team with four triples, and after hitting his first HR of the season last night his OPS has eclipsed the .700 mark to .708.  His 15 steals are also good enough for 4th in the AL, four behind Jacoby Ellsbury for the lead.

He has also been on a tear as of late.  After bottoming out on May 7th at a .175 AVG and .434 OPS, Davis has found the magic.  In his last 22 games he has hit .349 with a .908 OPS, scored 14 runs, and stolen 8 bases. 

Now if he could just cut down a bit on the baserunning gaffes…

3. Today marks the one year anniversary of the Armando Gallaraga near perfect game, the night when poor Jim Joyce botched the last out of the game.  But who knew that so many other significant events in baseball history happened on this day.  After browsing Baseball Reference I was a bit shocked to discover that the following all went down on this date:

1915 – Babe Ruth hit his second career HR

1925 – Lou Gehrig starts the first game of his legendary streak after Wally Pipp sits out with a headache.

1935 – Babe Ruth announces his retirement.

1941 – Lou Gehrig dies of ALS.

1986 – Rod Carew announces his retirement.

1990 – Randy Johnson throws a no-hitter for Seattle.

2010 – Ken Griffey Jr announces his retirement

4. Tonight is the second game of the season for Team Pegs, my softball team.  After a tough first game, we sit in dead last, with the fewest runs scored, most runs allowed, most errors, and worst hitting performance by men (the females carried our co-ed team). 

But, if there is a silver lining, it’s that we definitely lead the league in beers consumed during play…

5.  Tomorrow’s post will be better than today. 

I promise…

A very quick post about umpires:

It must suck to be one.

There are many reasons why, including the awful uniforms, but here are the biggest:

- If you do a great job, nobody every knows who you are.

- You only gain notoriety by screwing up: see Joyce, Jim (for the perfect game screw up), Cuzzi, Phil (for poor calls in the playoffs a few years ago), or West, Joe (for ejecting players and managers from games seemingly at random).

- Making a call that you believe is right might put you in danger (see Upton, B.J. from yesterday’s game).

- There is no year-end public recognition.  A quick Google search for “Umpire of the Year” return only references to cricket.

But the biggest reason of all has to do with this screen capture:

I have never had the chance to call balls and strikes, so I can’t say with 100% accuracy, but I would bet that it is hard.  Trying to determine if an 89 mile-per-hour curve ball or a 98 MPH fast ball crossed the plate between the knees and chest in less than half a second sounds tough.

But now viewers can tell for certain when an ump made a mistake.  In that screen capture, the first pitch was clearly off the plate but called a strike.  Pitch two was over the plate, closer than the first pitch, yet called a ball.  Upsetting for Jays fans to be sure, but downright infuriating for pitcher Kyle Drabek who got the bad call and later gave up a sac fly.

So next time an ump makes a bad call remember one thing before you boo him:

He has a tough job.

Then boo him.

Yes, I’ve had a few beers.

Yes, this is day four of a long weekend bender.

But I have reason to be angry, drunk or sober.

The Toronto Blue Jays were pathetic this afternoon.

A complete game shutout for James Shields?  Come on.

Every aspect of the offensive game was horrendous.  Ricky Romero pitched an unbelievable game and ended up with the loss because the Jays lost the ability to hit.

Adam Lind was 0-4 with a strikeout and weak flyballs – each one coming on what looked like a one-handed swing.

Yunel Escobar went 0-4 with four groundouts – three to the EXACT SAME SPOT!

Jose Bautista continued to show a good eye – but was picked off with one out in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run at the plate.

And the worst part?  The game was over in two hours and five minutes.  It was the shortest game of the season.

And it just so happened to be my first time sitting in the HSBC VIP seats – 200 Level behind home plate.

Seriously, if they were going to lose in such a terrible manner, the least the Jays could have done was stretch the game out to three hours and let me enjoy the seats.  I didn’t even have enough time to get drunk on beer that wasn’t Bud!  I would have welcomed striking out on three pitches over a pop out on the first pitch!

Dammit!!!