The Best Of You

If you turn on Fan 590 right now, there's a press conference that Hill & Rios signed some long term deals. I missed the info, but I'll update this post when there's more information.

Update 1: I've been informed these are the #'s...

Rios 6 years, 64 million. Club option 2015. Effective 2009. I have no idea if there's a NTC.

Hill 4 years, 12 million. Club options 2012-2013-2014. Effective as of 2008. According to the report below, Hill's option years have to be decided for one, two, or 3 years.

Update #2: According to this report, Rios' option for 2015 is worth 13.5 mil with a 1 mil buyout. Hill's 3 options are worth around 28 million, so an average of 9.33 million.

Twitchy.

The Roundup

I'm not particularly bothered by the Yankees cowardly decision to postpone yesterday's game due to "rain", ironic seeing that it hadn't been "raining" for 20 minutes prior to the official cancellation and nor did it "rain" again through the afternoon. And it's looking far worse for tonight, with a 80% chance of precipitation and t-storms possible.

And what if we're postponed once again tonight? Expect a double-header in NYC on either August 30 or 31. Nothing wrong with that in my mind; better to play these games later with Rolen healthy, Stairs or Lind in the lineup and the Yankees rotation in disarray.

Oh, and what's this? Apparently it's all but wrapped up with Lexi, whose beauty is exceeded only by the radiant 18th Century French virgins sought out by the monster Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in Patrick Suskind's Perfume. Note to Jays promo department: Alex Rios panty drier night?

Is this sweet news or should we not let our chickens get ahead of the cart? (I just made that up, pretty much every talking head in the organization made some reference to horses and carts during spring training. I'm witty like that.) JP smartly backed down from his Monday deadline ostensibly because both sides were too close to a deal to put it all on hold for 7 months, but more likely as an admission that his strong arm tactics had failed and following through on that threat was likely going to cost the club millions of dollars. However it gets done, just git'er done!

One cool thing about yesterday (for me) was how Blair answered my question during his pregame online chat honestly, thoughtfully and without making me cry like he did when I suggested we trade Rios to the Dodgers for Brad Penny last year. I'm just going to go out on a limb and guess that he liked the part where I wrote, "I don't want to name names, but a certain bearded, grandfatherly colleague of yours at a rival T.O. paper is probably the worst local offender [when it comes to talking out of one's ass]..." Cheers, Blair!

I also would be remiss not to mention a new (free) online webzine that tracks the Jays' minor league system, Behind the Dish. The first issue looks pretty swell (an interview with Jesse Litsch on pg. 1) and I intend to plagarize heavily from this valuable source as the summer progresses. Will add a link at right.

And totally out of the blue, here's a full admission of teams that I am "in like" with, for various reasons: Phillies, Braves, Nationals, Tigers, A's, and to a much lesser extent but still enough to warrant putting them on the list, the Diamondbacks. Teams that can go fornicate themselves include: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Giants, Cardinals and Marlins. There you have it.

ELSEWHERE:

* For the second day in a row, some minor redemption for beleaguered Bal'mer. Aubrey Huff, a well-known d-bag who is simply too lazy to live up to his potential, was showered with boos from hometown fans still smarting over some derogatory comments he made about their fair city in a NC-17 satellite radio interview back in October.

If this post was somewhat I abbreviated, it's largely due to the intoxicating after effects of the 5L Heneiken mini-keg I bought special for my annual Opening Day bbq. Anyone working for the famed Dutch brewers should know that I will gladly shill for your product in this space. Keep up the good work, lads!

-- Johnny Was

Weekend Roundup

Today is Alex Rios Contract Extension Day--JP's arbitrary deadline for a deal--and it is with great fear and trepidation that I check the news to see if this thing has got done or what. At the bargain price Rios has apparently agreed to extend for, 6 years at $65 million, it would be a Shakespearean tragedy to see this thing get caught up on some form of no-trade clause. If Rios does in fact end up going year to year until declaring free agency, rest assured that he will not be had for so little...

McLeod reported yesterday afternoon that JP had yet to hear back from Rios' people. Yesterday Bastian reported that Our Great Leader was getting pretty chippy on the subject:

"We've talked about this enough," Ricciardi said Saturday when asked about the Monday deadline.

If a contract extension is not reached by Monday's pregame meeting, the deal won't get completed until the end of the season. When asked about the status of talks, Rios was uncertain.

"They're still talking," he said of the negotiations. "I guess we're close ... I think."

Weak. Doesn't he know that the unwashed masses of Jays fandom need a piece of good news to make up for the loss of Casey Janssen and the flukey injury to Scott Rolen? So selfish, JP, never thinking of us.

Fidlin at the Sun checked in this morning and still nuthin'. If it doesn't get done today, JP is still saying he won't reopen talks until after the season.

(Fidlin also notes that Stairsy is still bothered by a sore hip and will not be playing in the season opener tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. It'll be interesting to see if that means Shannon Stewart hits in the two hole against Chien-Ming Wang, a prospect that displeases me for some reason. And Shaun Marcum, the starter for Friday's home opener, absolutely stunk up the joint in his final spring tuneup against the Yankees AAA affiliate.)

Tony Massarotti at the Boston Globe wonders why the Jays are offering Rios so much money in the first place (say what?), but then presents the rather curious observation that there was a precipitious decline in homerun production from AL outfielders last year. Seriously, not a one hit 30 dingers. Have we turned back the clock to 1989, when 36 Fred McGriff dingers was good for the league lead? Well, not exactly. More likely just a blip in the radar, but still, interesting.

So there you have it, folks, absolutely nothing to report on the Alex Rios front. I'll check in later tonight if there's any good news to pass along.

The weekend series against the Phillies gave us an idea of what lineup Gibby will use until Rolen gets back. Take it from here Jeremy Sandler:

David Eckstein and the left-field platoon of Shannon Stewart and Matt Stairs, Alex Rios will bat third, Vernon Wells fourth and designated hitter Frank Thomas fifth.

Against right-handers Lyle Overbay will bat sixth and Aaron Hill will bat seventh, with the two flip-flopping against lefties while Scutaro will hit eighth and the catcher’s spot will be ninth.

If you didn't catch it in yesterday's Globe, here's Blair's season preview. McLeod curiously picks the Rays to finish second in the AL East (whatever!). Here's Griffin's crappier, wronger preseason prediction article. He too thinks the Rays could pass our side this year, too. Seriously, fuckers, what are you smoking? What, you want more Griffin? Ok, here you go. And this, in Wilner's soothing dulcet tones, is a more agreeable read.

ELSEWHERE:

* Not content with North American domination, the Bosox are apparently cooking up some sort of business arrangement with Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan. Long story short, the deal would give the Beantowners even greater access to Japanese manpower to further butress the cash advantage they already have in the amateur draft and the crooked, inherently unfair posting system. Never fear, though; Bosox brass will be the second ones up against the wall after the revolution begins. Guess who's first?

-- Johhny Was

Morning Roundup

The pending Alex Rios contract extension is as of yet unofficial and it's sounding like it won't get done for a few days at least. Sorry folks!

Now, you're probably expecting some sensitive quotes from JP on these delicate negotiations with the team's budding superstar. Cathal Kelly reports that "Ricciardi seemed tired out by the process" which has been ongoing since October:

"It's taking probably longer than we thought it would. It's creeping toward getting done," the GM said, later adding, "I was in Oakland when we traded (Mark) McGwire and we actually prospered after that. But (Rios) is a good player and we're trying to be proactive to keep our good players."

Ah, nicely timed: another trade threat. Stay classy, JP!

Apparently the sticky wicket could be a no-trade clause. Rios understandably wants one since he's been shopped aggressively the last three off-seasons. JP has only given them to Doc and V-Dub and is resisting heavily. NTCs often end up being a poisoned chalice for GMs, so my sympathy is with the club here. Yet, if it ends up as a 6-year deal (concluding when Lexi is 32-33) with a club option for a 7th year, a NTC here probably isn't the end of the world because the odds are likely to extremely likely Rios stays productive for the duration of the pact. Git'er done!

The Tampa Bay Rays absolutely pwn'd Doc yesterday (with some extraordinarily cruddy d behind him) and he should probably abandon the "pitch to contact" philosophy with these aggressive hackers. They're a young team that posted a collective OBP of .336 (8th in the AL) and SLG of .433 (4th) last year, which means that they're relatively impatient and can rake. Chucking even A stuff right down the gullet isn't going to work with these up and comers.

What happens when the baseball writers at the National Post lug in a couple of cases of Lakeport up to the newsroom and order an extra large pepperoni pizza? A mildly entertaining conversation like this.

Wilner notes that tonight's Jays game against the Reds will be webcast. Yes, indeed.

And Sal Fasano was released, if you care. I'm sure there's some cop drama filming somewhere that needs a stand in. Zaunnie is kind of, but not really, hurt. Hamstrings.

So, what bees do you expect to find in the bonnets of Richard Griffin mailbag questioneers this week? The must be happy about dumping Reed Johnson, right?

Around the horn:

* Jose Canseco is back with a new comedy album and will be appearing at your local Yuk Yuks from April 13-18. In addition to his crowd-pleasing drug humour, Jose has added new material on cuckolding and Alex Rodriguez. Four drink minimum!

* The best thing about Miguel Cabrera's $141 million dollar extension with the Tigers is that he won't become a free agent end up a Yankee. Yep, I went there.

* Andy Pettitte has thrown a measly 8 innings this spring, but he says he'll start the first week of season. Wanna bet a dollar?

* What do really, really old southern racists think about the Bosox-A's season-opener in Japan? Click here if you're dying to find out! Hint: there are Pearl Harbor references...

* Over in Cubdom, Reed Johnson and his awful facial hair are being touted as remedies to the legendary Curse of the Billy Goat that has prevented those lovable losers from the winning the World Series in a million jillion years. Cubs GM Jim Hendry considers himself a long-time Sparky fan and claims to have tried to pry him away from the Jays at numerous junctures over the past 4 to 5 years. If true, for shame JP on not trading him when he had market value! For shame! Sparky himself can't be too chuffed about the $1.5 million pay cut he just took, but he seems to be genuinely enthused about his new digs. And that, my friends, is the last time you'll hear about ol' Reed Johnson until the Cubs come to town in June. Peace out!

-- Johnny Was