The New Fictional Toronto Blue Jays - Page 2

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 08:29 AM

Toronto Fans Livid over Trade

July 30th, 2007

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays were outraged to learn that GM Ryan Stewart had traded 3 of its starting players to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many fans believed that the GM is throwing in the towel too early and that despite being in last place in the American League East the Jays still have a chance to make a run at the wild card and Post Season Play.

GM Ryan Stewart defended the trade "Anytime you have the oppertunity to bring in 3 quality players like we did here you have to do it. CF Aquilino Ortiz, 1B Willis Hicks and LF Xavier Cortes are all in contract years and it was going to cost too much to keep them all. By trading them now we get a major league ready starter in SP Carlos Ruiz who will slot in as our #2 starter and 2 prospects who despite being young are close to major league ready and will be a big part of the Blue Jays future. In 2-3 years this trade could be looked at as building the foundation of a World Series Winner"

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 08:46 AM

SP Hugh Jacobs traded to White Sox

July 31st, 2007

The Toronto Blue Jays and GM Ryan Stewart announced that they have traded vetran SP Hugh Jacobs to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for LF Gabriel Vargas.

In 19 games this year the 29 year old SP Hugh Jacobs was 5-12 with a 5.70 ERA in 121.2 innings. He has allowed opponents to hit .289 off of him and has struck out 55 batters. He was drafted by the Yankees in the first round 25th overall in the 2000 First Year Player Draft and was traded to Toronto in 2005 from Pittsburgh.

LF Gabriel Vargas is a 26 year old who has spent the past 3 years in the Chicago White Sox Organization. He was a 2nd round pick 41st overall in 2003 by the Texas Rangers and was traded to the White Sox in 2004. In 2007 he has hit .289 with 22 HR and 64 RBIs and sports a .328 onbase percentage.

GM Ryan Stewart on the trade "With the addition of SP Carlos Ruiz we had 6 starters and only 5 spots and we would have had to pass a player through waivers to send them to AAA so we had to make a deal and SP Hugh Jacobs was the odd man out. We get a good young outfielder in return who will help us fill the void left by the loss of LF Xavier Cortes"

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 09:18 AM

Blue Jays Post .500 Record in June and July

August 1st, 2007

The Toronto Blue Jays managed to go 24-24 in June and July and pushed their overall record to 44-62. They are still in last place in the American League East division trailing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by 15.5 games. They no longer have the worst record in baseball and have moved to within 14 games of the Chicago White Sox for the Wild Card Spot. Although the Jays have shown signs of improvement over the last 2 months it is unlikely that they will be able to mount any serious run at either the division title or a wild card spot. GM Ryan Stewart was asked about what he would like to see out of his club for the last couple of months of the season "We would like to play .500 ball and try and post a winning record in August, September and October. If we can do that we can head into the offseason on a high note and have some momentum to carry over into the 2008 season. September is going to be a big month for us. We are going to bring up a number of key young players that we think cancompete for a roster spot next season and it gives us a chance to get a look at what they can do right now"

Blue Jays SP Fred Harris released

GM Ryan Stewart announced that 43 year old SP Fred Harris has been released by the Blue Jays. "When SP Jorge Tamayo went on the DL we had to call up SP Adam Barber and when Tamayo returned Barber would have had to pass waivers to be sent back down to AAA. We tried to trade Fred but there were no takers and then we designated him for assignemnt and passed him through waiver but no one claimed him. We offered him a spot in the AAA rotation but he refused and we were left with no other option but to release him" Said GM Ryan Stewart.

In 15 games in 2007 harris was 2-9 with a 6.24 ERA.

Jays Sign Free Agent 3B Alex Marrero

Gm Ryan Stewart announced that they have come to terms on a 1 year $540,000 contract with free agent 3B Alex Marrero. The 28 year old Marrero was a 3rd round pick 67th overall in 2003 by the Chicago Cubs and has not played professional baseball at all in 2007. GM Ryan Stewart "We signed him to provide some depth on the infield and some speed on the bases. he won't hit for a high average or a lot of power but should help us as a backup"

Blue Jays Have Lone representative at 2007 Allstar Game

The 2007 Allstar game was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Metradome and the Toronto Blue Jays had only a single player chosed for the American League Squad. SP Tony Chaved did not play as the National League defeated the American League 2-1 on a 2 out 2 run homerun in the top of the 9th inning by Chicago Cubs CF Jack Wright off of Detroit Tigers CL Matt Murphy.

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 11:32 AM

Jays Finish Regular Season in 4th Place in the AL East

October 4th, 2007

The Toronto Blue Jays capped off the 2007 Regular Season with a record of 72-90. Finishing a full 20 games behind the division winning Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Jays also finished 18 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the Wild Card. It was a rather dissapointing season for the Jays who suffered through a number of injuries and mid season trades that made sweeping changes to the Blue Jays Roster. GM Ryan Stewart sees light at the end of the tunnell "It was a tough year for sure. We in a rebuilding year and we aquired some very improtant pieces of that rebuilding process this year. Things should be looking brighter for the Jays in the next couple of years" Perhaps the one bright spot for the Jays was the pitching of SP Tony Chavez who not only lead the team in wins with 20 but tied for the league lead in that department.

2007 MLB Standings

Code:

American League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                  W  L    PCT   GB 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 92 70   .568    - 
Baltimore Orioles    88 74   .543   4.0 
Boston Red Sox       83 79   .512   9.0 
Toronto Blue Jays    72 90   .444  20.0 
New York (A) Yankees 66 96   .407  26.0 
Central Division  
Team                   W  L  PCT   GB 
Minnesota Twins       92 70 .568   - 
Chicago (A) White Sox 90 72 .556   2.0 
Cleveland Indians     80 82 .494  12.0 
Kansas City Royals    77 85 .475  15.0 
Detroit Tigers        69 93 .426  23.0 
Western Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT GB 
Los Angeles (A) Angels 89 73 .549 - 
Seattle Mariners       82 80 .506 7.0 
Texas Rangers          69 93 .426 20.0 
Oakland Athletics      68 94 .420 21.0 
AL Wild Card  
Team                   W  L  PCT  GB 
Chicago (A) White Sox 90 72 .556  - 
Baltimore Orioles     88 74 .543  2.0 
Boston Red Sox        83 79 .512  7.0 
Seattle Mariners      82 80 .506  8.0 
Cleveland Indians     80 82 .494 10.0 
Kansas City Royals    77 85 .475 13.0 
Toronto Blue Jays     72 90 .444 18.0 
Detroit Tigers        69 93 .426 21.0 
Texas Rangers         69 93 .426 21.0 
Oakland Athletics     68 94 .420 22.0 
New York (A) Yankees  66 96 .407 24.0 
 
National League Standings 
 
Eastern Division  
Team                   W  L  PCT GB 
New York (N) Mets     93 70 .571 - 
Philadelphia Phillies 92 71 .564 1.0 
Atlanta Braves        83 79 .512 9.5 
Florida Marlins       81 81 .500 11.5 
Washington Nationals  79 83 .488 13.5 
Central Division  
Team                  W  L  PCT GB 
St. Louis Cardinals 106 56 .654 - 
Milwaukee Brewers   81  81 .500 25.0 
Cincinnati Reds     78  84 .481 28.0 
Houston Astros      72  90 .444 34.0 
Chicago (N) Cubs    70  92 .432 36.0 
Pittsburgh Pirates  68  94 .420 38.0 
Western Division  
Team                     W  L  PCT GB 
Colorado Rockies        87 75 .537 - 
Arizona Diamondbacks    86 76 .531 1.0 
San Francisco Giants    86 76 .531 1.0 
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 80 82 .494 7.0 
San Diego Padres        72 90 .444 15.0 
NL Wild Card  
Team                    W   L  PCT GB 
Philadelphia Phillies   92 71 .564 - 
Arizona Diamondbacks    86 76 .531 5.5 
San Francisco Giants    86 76 .531 5.5 
Atlanta Braves          83 79 .512 8.5 
Florida Marlins         81 81 .500 10.5 
Milwaukee Brewers       81 81 .500 10.5 
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 80 82 .494 11.5 
Washington Nationals    79 83 .488 12.5 
Cincinnati Reds         78 84 .481 13.5 
Houston Astros          72 90 .444 19.5 
San Diego Padres        72 90 .444 19.5 
Chicago (N) Cubs        70 92 .432 21.5
Pittsburgh Pirates      68 94 .420 23.5

2007 Blue Jays Pitching Stats

Code:

 POS # Name           B T  G GS  W  L SV   IP   HA HR   R ER BB  K   ERA  AVG CG SHO 
 SP 46 Adam Barber    S R 19 19  3 10  0 113.0 152 21  79 77 25  96 6.13 .315  0  0 
 SP 25 Tony Chávez    R R 36 36 20  9  0 262.1 203 11  73 60 65 251 2.06 .209  4  3 
 SP 33 Cisco Gallegos L L 33 33  8 12  0 184.1 195 27 102 92 63 187 4.49 .269  1  0 
 SP 43 Carlos Ruíz    R L 39 37 14 10  0 225.0 175  8  66 62 66 258 2.48 .211  1  0 
 SP 51 Jorge Tamayo   R R 24 24  5 11  0 144.1 156 28  86 85 46 137 5.30 .273  2  1 
 MR 49 Héctor Aponte  R L 59  0  2  5  1  77.2 113 15  67 61 31  36 7.07 .340  0  0 
 MR 45 Bill Holmes    R R 47  0  3  3  2  55.2  68  8  26 26 20  35 4.20 .309  0  0 
 MR 15 John McDonald  L L 60  0  2  5  0  69.0  59 10  39 34 32  79 4.43 .228  0  0 
 MR 19 Dylan McGee    L L 13  0  2  0  1  20.0  14  0   6  6  8  16 2.70 .206  0  0 
 MR 5 Jorge Navarro   R R 64  0  4  3  1  95.1 103 10  40 36 40  70 3.40 .272  0  0 
 MR 38 Desmond Wass   R R 74  0  5  3  2  87.0  57  9  27 26 24  95 2.69 .186  0  0 
 CL 18 Gunner Parker  R R 63  2  5  6 35  72.0  72 15  40 35 23  87 4.38 .257  0  0

2007 Blue Jays Batting Stats

Code:

POS #  Name             B T  G   AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI   R BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS SB CS 
 C  91 Robert Francis   L R 136 525 131 35  2 13  61  66 54  63 .250 .324 .398 .722  1  2 
 C  52 Johnny Miller    R R  35 106  26  5  2  2  15  11  3  32 .245 .270 .387 .657  0  1 
 1B 16 Mauro López      L L 159 612 135 22  1 37  96  81 69 190 .221 .299 .441 .741  2  0 
 2B 14 Ryan Turvill     R R 152 576 151 35 10  3  41  93 93  88 .262 .365 .373 .739 25  7 
 2B 13 Sancho Pérez     R R  72  92  20  3  2  0  11  14 10  14 .217 .288 .293 .582  3  0 
 3B 57 Álex Marrero     R R  49 127  23  2  1  4  11   7  7  45 .181 .224 .307 .531  0  0 
 SS 31 Nick Beecher     R R  25  87  19  3  3  3  10  14  8  27 .218 .306 .425 .731  7  1 
 SS 23 Santiago Méndez  R R 122 341  72 17  0  4  30  28 34  98 .211 .290 .296 .586  0  1 
 SS 41 Roberto Díaz     L R 147 500 106 34  9  3  57  51 22  94 .212 .258 .334 .592 11  2 
 LF 16 Gabriel Vargas   R R 149 587 152 28  3 29  88 104 38 135 .259 .310 .465 .775 64 12 
 LF 34 Vince Barker     R R  18  48   8  0  0  1   2   4  3  12 .167 .216 .229 .445  1  0 
 LF  7 Jay Smith        S R  14  29   3  2  0  0   4   5  6   8 .103 .257 .172 .430  0  0 
 CF  8 Yasushi Konishi  L L  18  56  16  1  0  7  16  14  8  18 .286 .379 .679 1.057 11 2 
 CF 50 Matt Harrell     R R 133 425 103 23  6 10  47  42 15 126 .242 .272 .395 .667  16 9 
 CF 24 Sung-ho Ch'oe    R R  89 291  78 15  1  2  22  29 12  20 .268 .302 .347 .649  24 7 
 RF 26 Reynaldo Vásquez L L 122 347  56 15  1 10  42  33 40 108 .161 .248 .297 .545   1 1 
 RF 30 Tad Sanders      L L  26  95  26  1  1  6  18  12 12  21 .274 .358 .495 .853   6 4

Season Notes:

Blue Jays SS Santiago Mendez Retiring

38 year old Blue Jays SS Santiago Mendez retired officially today. In 6 seasons with the Blue Jays Mendez hit .240 in 1057 games with 920 hits, 71 HR 372 RBIs, 341 BB nad an onbase percentage of .316. He was aquired by the Blue Jays in a trade in 2000 from the Cleveland Indians.

Jays Sign Japanese CF

GM Ryan Stewart introduced the newest member of the Toronto Blue Jays today 27 year old CF Yasushi Knoishi. The outfielder from Osaka Japan was discovered by scout Chin-Ho Kim in Japan. He signed a 1 year $1,150,000 contract with the Jays. In 2007 with Toronto he would appear in 18 games and hit .286 with 7 HR and 16 RBIs.

Baseball Playoffs

American League Division Series:

Chicago White Sox
Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Minnesota Twins

National League Division Series

Philedelphia Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals

Colorado Rockies
New York Mets

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 11:41 AM

St. Louis Wins World Series

October 28th, 2007

The St. Louis Cardinals are celebrating in the streets as for the 3rd time in the past 4 years their team has captured the World Series Title. The Cardinals defeated the Minnesota Twins in 5 games to capture the crown. The Cardinals posted the best record in baseball in 2007 at 106-56 and were the only team to win 100 games. The Cardinals boast one of the best pitching stafs in baseball lead by SP Frank 'Stone' Fields who went 24-2 and SP Felipe 'Quack' Lopez who had a 22-5 record. In terms of offence the Cardinals are lead by 28 year old C Leon Robles who hit .270 with 27 HR and had 90 RBIs and rookie LF javier Padilla who hit .295 with 11 HR and 45 RBIs.

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 12:25 PM

MLB Announces Award Winners

November 12th, 2007

Gold Gloves - American League

SP - Tom Donahue (Baltimore Orioles)
C - Chris Willie (Minnesota Twins)
1B - Ken Scott (Cleveland Indians)
2B - Andrew Norman (Chicago White Sox)
3B - Roland Hicks (Boston Red Sox)
SS - Chad Brown (Cleveland Indians)
LF - Roy Riggall (Boston Red Sox)
CF - Kickibei Inagaki (LA Angels)
RF - Ryan Green (Boston)

Gold Gloves - National League

SP - Alberto Lopez (San Diego Padres)
C - Luis Mercado (LA Dodgers)
1B - Steve Strong (San Diego Padres)
2B - Jim Mitchell (Atlanta Braves)
3B - Mark Best (LA Dodgers)
SS - Rick Potts (Chicago Cubs)
LF - Leon Rivera (Colorado Rockies)
CF - Eduardo Blanco (Houston Astros)
RF - Alfonso Flores (Colorado Rockies)

Rookie of the Year Award - American League

CF David Gilbert (Minnesota Twins)
The 26 year old hit .336 with 190 hits 12 HR 93 RBIs and scored 94 Runs in 151 games.

Rookie of the Year Award - National League

SS Fred Baker (Colorado Rockies)
The 23 year old hit .320 with 166 hits 10 HR and 70 RBIs and scored 75 Runs in 153 games.

Cy Young Award - American League

SP Tony Chavez (Toronto Blue Jays)
The 26 year old sported a 20-9 record with a 2.06 ERA. He threw 262.1 innings allowing 203 hits struckout 251 walked 65 and opponents hit just .209 against him.

Cy Young Award - National League

SP Frank Fields (St. Louis Cardinals)
The 26 year old was spectacular this season going 24-4 with a 1.58 ERA. He tossed 239.2 innings struckout 295 and opponets batted just .191 against him.

American League MVP Award

CF Norm 'Spike' Watkins (Cleveland Indians)
The 27 year old hit .288 with 158 hits 32 HR 11 #B 31 2B 93 RBIs 74 BB and a .370 OBP. He also scored 106 runs.

National League MVP Award

CF Luis Manuel 'Skippy' Ramirez (Arizona Diamondbacks)
The 33 year old had a great season where he hit .315 with 184 hits 34 2B 5 #B 35 HR and had 108 RBIs. He also scored 107 Runs.

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 01:11 PM

Blue Jays Lose 3 Players to Free Agency

November 19th, 2007

All across Major League Baseball free agents filed today and here in Toronto 3 players were not offered new contracts by the Blue Jays. MR Hector Aponte, MR Jorge Navarro and 2B Sancho Perez. GM Ryan Stewart was asked why the trio were not resigned "We really want to take the team in another direction. Specifically our bullpen. We would like to get some fresh young arms in there. We believe that if the bullpen can improve over last season we will do significantly better in the standings"

The Blue Jays currently have about $18,000,000 in budget room availiable should GM Ryan Stewart want to add to the Jays roster. He was asked if the Jays would be players in the free agent market this season "We probably won't go after any of the big name free agents that are out there but there are a few lesser know players that we may be interrested in. There is also the trade route and we have already had a number of clubs express interest in CF Yasushi Konishi who we signed in September last season"

Blue Jays Sign Venezuelan MR

The Blue Jays took a step forward in revamping their bullpen with the signing of Venezuelan MR Angel Ferreria. The 24 year old received a 1 year $540,000 contract and will be invited to Spring Training to attempt to win one of the vacated bullpen Jobs. GM Ryan Stewart on the signing "He is a hard throwing righthander who can bring his fasball in the 96-98 MPH range. His control needs some work but he looks like a very good young arm for the back of our bullpen"

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 01:32 PM

Jays Announce Minor League Award Winners

December 21st, 2007.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced today the annual player of the year awards for each level in their minor league system:

AAA Syracuse
RF Tad Sanders
.296 9 HR 96 RBI (with AAA Syracuse)
.274 6 HR 18 RBI (with Toronto)
The 24 year old was drafted in the 2nd round 39th overall of the 2002 First Year Player Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He has moved up through the Jays system at a fairly steady pace and is poised to head into Spring Training with a shot at making the big league club for 2008.

AA New Hampshire
2B Bill Coffey
.274 6 HR 63 RBI (with AA New Hampshire)
The 26 Year old was drafted in the 17th round 510th overall by Baltimore in the 2004 First year Player Draft and was signed by the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in 2005. He will likely not ever get promoted past AA and is a prime example of just how depleated my high minor leagues are.

High A Dunedin
CF Francisco Vargas
.342 19 HR 104 RBI (with A Dunedin)
The 26 year old was drafted in the 7th round 191st overall in the 2004 First Year Player Draft by Toronto. He had struggled in the minor leagues until this season but put up good numbers in Dunedin. He is gettin old at 26 and it is unlikely he will progress much farther than AA.

Low A Lansing
RF Clark WIlson
.295 13 HR 64 RBI (with A Lansing)
The 25 year old was a 1st round pick 5th overall in 2005 by Toronto and has been a dissapointment thus far. he has struggled in his first two professional seasons but finally turned the corner in 2007 batting close to .300. He has the talent and potential to be an allstar but is getting a little old to be playing A Ball. He will start the 2007 season in AA and hopefully will see AAA by the end of the season.

Short Season A - Auburn
C Cesar Torres
.353 3 HR 46 RBI (with SA Auburn)
The 20 year old was a first round pick 18th overall of Arizona's in the 2006 First Year Player Draft and came over from the Diamondbacks in a trade in 2007. He adjusted well to the better pitching in the New York Penn League and will be headed to a Lansing for the 2008 Season.

Pulaski - Rookie League
1B David Callahan
.374 1 HR 19 RBI (Pulaski (R))
He was a 15th Round Pick 442nd overall by Toronto in 2006 and at only 23 still has some time to develop. He has shown that he has a good bat batting .374 this year and .335 in Pulaski last season. His power production is not very good right now but I think it will come. He will be headed to A Lansing for the start of the 2008 season.

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 02:30 PM

Blue Jays Offseason Comes to a Close. Team Gears up for Spring Training.

March 6th, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays and GM Ryan Stewart finished a busy offseason that saw them make a couple of minor moves. GM Ryan Stewart "We weren't able to pull the trigger on any big deals but we made a couple of signings and a few trades that we think will help us in the long run"

Blue Jays Trade CF Konishi to Detroit

GM Ryan Stewart announced that the Toronto Blue Jays have traded Japanese CF Yashushi Konishi to the Tigers for 22 year old Canadian LF Russ Wesman. Wesman was a 2nd round pick 28th overall by Detroit in 2005 and hit .299 with 14 HR and 59 RBIs for AAA Tuscon. He will be invited to Spring Training but will likely start the season in AAA with Syracuse.

Blue Jays Sign Dominican 3B

GM Ryan Stewart announced today that they have signed 3B Gerardo Cortez to a minor league contract and have invited the 6'3" 225 lbs 3B to Spring training. GM Ryan Stewart on the signing "he is a good looking young hitter who looks like he could hit for a good average and some power. he also plays a great defensive 3B and can run fairly well for a big man. He could crack our lineup as early as 2008"

Blue Jays Sign MR Ben Gordon

The Toronto Blue Jays have come to terms with 22 year old free agent MR Ben Gordon. Gordon spent the 2007 season in the Arizona Diamondbacks Organization going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 9 innings with Arizona and 3-2 with 7 SV and a 4.51 ERA in 51.1 innings with Tucoma AAA. He was released by Arizona in 2007 and the Jays signed him to a 1 year $540,000 contract.

Jays Trade Veteran RF to the Mets

GM Ryan Stewart announced today that the Club has parted ways with 36 year old RF Reynaldo Vasquez sending him to the Mets for 19 year old SP Stan Collins. Vasquez spent his entire career in Toronto after being selected by the team in the 2000 Inagural Draft. He has 2 years remaining on his contract and by trading him the club will save roughly $22,000,000 dollars. The Blue Jays get 19 year old SP Stan Collins who went undrafted in the 2007 First Year Player Draft but was signed to a minor league contract by the Mets in December 2007. He has yet to pitch at the Professional level and will start in 2008 with the Pulaski Blue Jays.

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 02:58 PM

Spring Training Over: Jays Fly Home for the Start of the 2008 Season

March 1st, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays will open up the 2008 Regular Season in Oakland to face the Athletics. The Blue Jays just finished a very busy offseason and Spring Training that saw the team take a much different shape than the one that took the field in 2007.
2007 Toronto Blue Jays Roster:

Starting Pitchers:

SP Carlos Ruiz - 6-2 3.12 ERA (with Toronto)
SP Tony Chavez - 20-9 2.06 ERA (with Toronto)
SP Cisco 'Millionaire' Gallegos - 8-12 4.49 ERA (with Toronto)
SP Jorge Tamayo - 5-11 5.30 ERA (with Toronto)
SP Adam Barber - 2-2 3.94 ERA (with Toronto)
Bull Pen:

MR Desmond Wass - 5-3 2 SV 2.69 ERA(with Toronto)
MR Dylan McGee - 2-0 1 SV 2.70 ERA (with Toronto)
MR Ben Gibson - 3-2 7 SV 4.41 ERA (with Tucoma AAA)
MR Bill Holmes - 3-3 2 SV 4.40 ERA (with Toronto)
MR John McDonald - 2-5 SV 4.43 ERA (with Toronto)
MR Angel Ferreria - NO 2007 STATS
CL Gunner 'Voodoo' Parker - 8-6 35 SV 4.38 ERA (with Toronto)

Position Players:

C Roberto Francis - .250 13 HR 61 RBI (with Toronto)
C Johnny Miller - .245 2 HR 15 RBI (with Toronto)
1B Mauro Lopez - .221 37 HR 96 RBI (with Toronto)
2B Ryan Turvill - .262 3 HR 41 RBI (with Toronto)
3B Gerardo Cortez - NO 2007 STATS
3B Alex Marrero - .181 4 HR 11 RBI (with Toronto)
SS Roberto Diaz - .212 3 HR 57 RBI (with Toronto)
SS Nick Beecher - .221 23 HR 91 RBI (with AA Syracuse)
LF Vince Barker - .167 1 HR 2 RBI (with Toronto)
LF Gabriel Vargas - .220 7 HR 24 RBI (with Toronto)
CF Sung-ho Ch'oe - .268 2 HR 22 RBI (with Toronto)
CF Matt Harrell - .242 10 HR 47 RBI (with Toronto)
RF Tad Sanders - .274 6 HR 18 RBI (with Toronto in September)

ryan008 · 11-19-2007, 03:24 PM

Blue Jays Defeat Oakland 4-1 on Opening Day

April 6th, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays opened the 2008 season with a victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of a sellout crowd in Oakland. The Game was started by SP Carlos Ruiz (6-2 3.12 ERA in 2007) for Toronto and Oakland countered with SP James Bauer (8-19 3.88 ERA in 2007).

Blue Jays rookie 3B Roberto Diaz crushed a 385 ft homerun in the 3rd inning in his first major league plate appearence and C Robert Francis went 3-3 with 3 RBI as the Jays cruised to a 4-1 victory. SP Carlos Ruiz (1-0) went 7.1 innings allowing only 4 hits and 0 Earned runs, walked 1 and struckout 10 in the victory. Oakland SP James Bauer (0-1) went 6 innings and allowed all 4 Jays runs on 7 hits walking 4 and striking out 5. Jays CL Gunner Parker pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn his first save of the season.

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 08:26 AM

Blue Jays Playing .500 Baseball at the Quarter Pole of the Season

June 1st, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays have compiled a record of 25-25 after 2 months of Regular Season Baseball. The Blue Jays are currently in 3rd Position, 4 games back of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles who are tied for the lead in the American League East. The Jays are also only 4 games back of the Boston/Baltimore, The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians for the American League Wild Card. The Blue Jays are playing very good baseball ringt now being lead by staff Ace SP Carlos Ruiz who has gone 5-1 with a 1.98 ERA this year. They are being lead offensively by 1B Mauro Lopez who has 12 HR and currently leads the American League in that department.

The Jays have also had a number of injuries this year as 5 different Jays have spent time on the DL. The latest is CF Matt Harrell who is out for 3 weeks with a fractured finger. Recently aquired RF Russ Wesman has been called up to take his place.

GM Ryan Stewart on his teams performance "I am very happy with how we have performed so far. We are right in the thick of the playoff hunt and there is a good possibility that we could be fighting for a post season spot come September"

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 10:11 AM

Jays Take OF with 7th Overall Pick

June 1st, 2008.

The 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft was held today and the Toronto Blue Jays had the 7th overall selection in each round. GM Ryan Stewart discussed what type of player the Jays were looking for with such a high pick "When you draft in the top 10 picks you are looking for a player who could be the cornerstone of your franchise down the road. A player that you can build your team around. In this years draft we are more interrested in position players rather than pitchers (specifically starters) since we have accumulated some nice depth with a couple of trades over the last few years. As always we are looking to take the best player availiable and hopefully you will see them in the majors sooner rather than later"

Toronto Blue Jays 1st-3rd Round Picks

LF Calvin White (1st Round)
22 Years Old, 6'5", 165 lbs Bats: R Throws: R
Rider University - College (NCAA)
Potential Ratings: 10/10/1/10/10 Rating @ LF: 10 Arm: 9
Comment: The future lead off hitter for the Blue Jays. He does everything but hit homeruns. He will hit for a high average and can fly on the basepaths but has virtually no power at all. He could also be a future gold glove winner with his range and arm in the outfield. He hit .375 with 0 HR and 23 RBIs in the NCAA in 2008.
Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2009-2010. I think he could move through the system quickly. His ratings are already fairly well developed. The only issue may be adjusting to the pitchers in professional ball. He will start in Pulaski but could get as high as Low A Lansing depending on his performance.

2B Felipe Cortez (2nd Round)
19 Years Old, 6'2", 210 lbs Bats: R Throws: R
San Bernardino Highschool, California - Highschool (USHS)
Potential Ratings: 9/10/8/10/9 Rating @ 2B: 4 Arm: 4
Comment: An offensive 2B who is only below average defensively. He also will not steal very many bases and is not very quick on the basepaths. He could be moved over to 1B in the minors but I don't have a lot of depth at 2B so he may stay there for a while. He hit .360 with 3 HR and 13 RBI in 2008.
Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2012-2013. Although he has very good potential ratings his current ratings are very low (1/1/2/2/4). I think he will have a hard time adjusting to wooden bats and better pitching and may need a few years in Pulaski and Auburn before he moves into more serious competition in A Ball and higher.

RF Ron Sweeney (3rd Round)
19 Years Old, 5'100", 170 lbs Bats: L Throws: L
Newark Highschool, New Jersey - Highschool (USHS)
Potential Ratings: 10/9/7/5/10 Rating @ RF: 7 Arm: 8
Comment: Sweeney has a lot of potential and I see him as being a 4th outfielder with the outside shot at starting in the Big leagues. He has the ratings to hit for a good average and provide some power and has an excellent eye at the plate. He is a quick baserunner and could steal some bases. He is also an adequate defensive RF and has an above average arm. He hit .374 with 10 HR and 24 RBIs in 2008.
Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2010-2011. I think that he will require some extra time int he low minors before he gets promoted to the higher levels. He is very young at 19 and has a lot of time to develop and we will ove him through the system slowly.

Toronto Draft Summary:

Total # of Picks: 20
Total # of Pitchers Selected: 8 (4 SP, 3 CL, 1 MR)
Total # of Position Players Selected: 12 (2 3B, 2 2B, 4 OF, 2 C, 2 1B)
Total # of College Players Selected: 10 (4 SP, 2 OF, 1 CL, 1 C, 1 3B, 1 1B)
Total # Of Highschool Players Selected: 10 (2 CL, 1 MR, 2 2B, 2 OF, 1 C, 1 3B, 1 1B)

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 12:07 PM

June-July Update: Jays 6 Games over .500 but Still 5.5 Back in AL East

August 1st, 2008.

The Season has reached its halfway point and the Toronto Blue Jays have a record of 54-48 but are still on the outside of the Playoff Picture looking in. The Jays trail 1st Place Baltimore by 5.5 games in the AL East and they trail the Wild Card leading Detroit Tigers by 3.5 games. The Jays have an uphill battle as they have both the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Boston Red Sox ahead of them in both the Wild Card and AL East Standings and will have to leapfrog both teams in order to get into the postseason. Blue Jays GM Ryan Stewart commented on his clubs play "We have been playing good fundamental baseball over the last month and we have also managed to stay healthy. When you put the two together you have a team that is playing better than .500 baseball"

Jays Send 3 Players to San Diego for Allstar Game

The Toronto Blue Jays sent SP Tony Chavez, SP Carlos Ruiz and 2B Ryan Turvill to PETCO Park in San Diego for the 2008 Allstar Game. The game was started by Detroits SP John 'Stocky' McIntyre (9-5 3.12 ERA) for the American League and Arizona's Ace SP Dana 'Cranky' Summers (12-2 1.93 ERA). It was an exciting game that went to the top of the 10th inning before being decided. Chicago White Sox C Kelsey Christiensen was the hero as he doubled home Minnesota Twins 2B Mark Porter with 2 out to give the AL a 6-5 lead. Detroit Tigers CL Alejandro Gonzalez pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th inning as the AL Held on for a 6-5 victory. Boston Red Sox CL Harold Gilmour got the win for the AL and Philedelphia Phillies CL Robby Hodge took the loss for the NL.

It was a very uneventful game for the Blue Jays representatives as only 2B Ryan Turvill made an appearence. He pinch hit in the 8th inning and struckout on 3 pitches to end the frame. SP Tony Chavez and SP Carlos Ruiz did not pitch in the game.

2008 Trade Deadline: Jays Swap Minor Leaguers with Arizona

GM Ryan Stewart announced that the Toronto Blue Jays have aquired CL Vincent 'Vulture' Tidwell from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league SS Matt McInturff.

CL Vincent Tidwell is a 25 year old righthander who was a 19th round selection of 558th overall of the Diamondbacks in the 2006 First Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University. He has spent the entire 2008 season with AA Tennessee going 5-6 with 16 SV and a 3.93 ERA.

SS Matt McInturff is 26 and was drafted in the 12th Round 339th overall in 2001 by the Cincinnati Reds. He was released by the Reds and signed to a minor league contract by the Blue Jays in 2006. He spent all of 2008 in AAA Syracuse and has hit .235 with 12 HR and 35 RBIs.

GM Ryan Stewart on the trade "We tried to go out and make a few big trades to try and push us over the hump and get us into the playoffs but the price was just too steep. It seemed like every trade the other teams wanted one of our young arms and they are untouchable. Arizona proposed this trade to us and it works out well for everyone. We get another good arm that can help us in our pen as early as next year and SS Matt McInturff gets a change of scenery and a chance with another organization"

Blue Jays Miss Out on Big Trade at Deadline, But Sign Ace SP Tony Chavez to 5 year Extension.

GM Ryan Stewart was all smiles as he flanked Jays Ace SP Tony Chavez today andd announced that the Jays have agreed to a 5 year $55,500,000 contract extension with the 26 year old hurler that will keep him with Toronto until 2014. The contract pays Chavez $11,100,000 a season for 5 years. The 26 year old has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays after being taken by the team in the 1st round 21st overall in 2001. He has a career record of 78-46 with a 2.84 ERA and 1119 career strikouts.

GM Ryan Stewart was thrilled with his decision to remain in Toronto "We couldn't be happier. We locked up a front line starter for a long time at a very reasonable contract. He will be the foundation that we build our pitching staff around in the future"

Blue Jays Top Pitching Prospect Suffers Horriffic injury

Toronto Blue Jays top pitching prospect SP Roberto 'Cupcake' Manuel suffered a ruptured Ulnar Collateral Ligament throwing a pitch in a game for AAA Syracuse. Team doctors confirmed the worst and he is going to miss at least 7 months.

GM Ryan Stewart "This is a big loss for the club. He was a prime candidate to get a callup for September and was a fovorite for a spot in the Starting rotation in 2009. He is young so hopefully he can bounce back from the injury"

In 24 starts in 2008 for AAA Syracuse Manuel is 12-7 with a 3.09 ERA.

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 01:02 PM

Blue Jays - Orioles Finish Regular Season Tied for AL East Lead. 1 Game Playoff to Decide Winner

October 6th, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles finished the regular season with identical records of 91-71 and are tied for the American League East Division Title. The Jays held a 1/2 game lead heading into the final day of the Regular Season. The Jays had already fiished their season but the Orioles faced the New York Yankees. The Game took 18 innings to play but the Orioles would prevail and force a 1 game playoff with the Blue Jays. The Jays, Orioles and Detroit Tigers are also all tied for the American League Wild Card so there are still 2 playoff spots up for grabs and 3 tiems vieing for them.

Blue Jays Sign Pair of Possible Free Agents

GM Ryan Stewart announced today that they have signed a pair of the Blue Jays possible free agents in CF Matt Harrell and SP Jorge Tamayo.

CF Matt Harrell agreed to a 2 year $1,280,000 contract that will pay the 30 year old $640,000 a year for the next 2 seasons. In 2008 with Toronto Harrell has hit .261 with 7 HR and 34 RBIs.

SP Jorge Tamayo agreed to a 3 year $5,460,000 contract extension that pays the 27 year old $1,820,000 per year. In 29 games with Toronto in 2008 Tamayo is 11-14 with a 4.33 ERA.

Blue Jays Call Up 4 Players for September

The Toronto Blue Jays have added 4 players to their roster for the month of September. CL Vincent Tidwell (3-2 8 SV 5.95 ERA), MR Jason Yeo (8-5 7 SV 2.31 ERA), RF Russ Wessman (.302 24 HR 96 RBI) and 1B Donovan Sampson (.257 32 HR 104 RBI) all from AAA Syracuse.

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 01:43 PM

Blue Jays Lose 1 Game Playoff - Miss Division Title by 1/2 Game. Will Play Tigers for Wild Card Spot in 1 Game Playoff

October 7th, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles played a 1 game playoff at Camden Yard today to determine who would be crowned the American League East Champions. Unfortunately for Jays fans the Orioles took the game by a score of 5-2. Baltimore rookie SP Carlos Delgado got the start for the Orioles and went 7 strong innings allowing just 5 hits and 2 earned runs. He walked 1 and struckout 4 to earn the victory. Toronto countered with SP Cisco Gallegos who went 6.2 innings allowing just 4 hits and 5 earned runs, he walked 3 and struckout 4 in the loss. Baltimore CL Pedro Suarez pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to Earn the Save his 40th of the year.

The silver lining for the Blue Jays is that they will face the Detroit Tigers in a 1 game playoff for the Wild Card spot in the AL East and that their playoff hopes are not dead yet. The game will be played at the Rogers Center in Toronto. Detroit will start SP Carl Perkins (14-7, 4.56) and Toronto will counter with SP Carlos Ruiz (19-5 1.99).

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 01:57 PM

Blue Jays Season Finished; Lose 7-2 to Detroit

October 8th, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays were hammered today by the Detroit Tigers in a one game playoff to determine who would get the Wild Card Playoff Spot. The Orioles scored 5 times in the 6th inning on a 2 run homerun by 1B Jesus Gomez and a 3 run HR by CF Sergio Medina off of Jays SP Carlos Ruiz to take a 5-1 lead. The Tigers would add 2 more in the 8th to take the game 7-2. SP Carlos Ruiz took the loss for the Jays and SP Carl Perkins threw 7.1 innings allowing only 6 hits and 1 earned run with 0 walks and 7 strikouts in the victory.

GM Ryan Stewart was visiably upset with his teams performance in the post game interview "It is unacceptable. We get outscored 12-4 in important life or death games. It was like we didn't even bother to show up. We are going to really take a good hard look at this roster for next season"

With the loss the Blue Jays season offically comes to a close and the Playoff matchups are set:

American League Championship Series

Oakland Athletics
Cleveland Indians

Baltimore Orioles
Detroit Tigers *Wild Card Winner

National League Championship Series

Houston Astros
New York Mets

Philedelphia Phillies
Arizona Diampndbacks

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 02:31 PM

Cleveland Indians Sweep Houston to Capture World Series

October 28th, 2008

The Cleveland Indians swept the Houston Astros to win the 2008 World Series. The Indians were lead buy pitchers SP Edmund 'Enigma' Lain and SP Josh Parks who both went 4-0 in the Playoffs and each won a game in the World Series. Offensively the Indians are headed by 1B Ken Scott and LF Tim Ward. With the World Series victory the Indians have won the title 3 times since 2003 and are one of the most successful franchises since 2000.

Blue Jays Statistics

Blue Jays Pitching Stats

Code:

POS  # Name            B T  G GS  W   L SV  IP    HA HR   R  ER BB   K  ERA  AVG CG SHO 
 SP 46 Adam Barber     S R 24 24  6  14  0 143.0 155 29 107 102 46  80 6.42 .273  2  0 
 SP 25 Tony Chávez     R R 35 35 20   6  0 250.0 223 15  85  80 44 234 2.88 .235  4  2 
 SP 33 Cisco Gallegos  L L 35 35 13   8  0 211.0 190 28  94  80 59 194 3.41 .236  1  0 
 SP 43 Carlos Ruíz     R L 37 37 19   6  0 241.0 160 11  60  57 43 269 2.13 .186  1  1 
 SP 51 Jorge Tamayo    R R 33 33 13  15  0 210.0 186 29 105  96 62 213 4.11 .230  3  1 
 MR 28 Ángel Ferreira  R R 29  0  1   1  0  45.0  36  2  29  24 26  55 4.80 .216  0  0 
 MR 29 Ben Gibson      R R 31  0  0   2  0  40.2  42  6  32  31 26  31 6.86 .269  0  0 
 MR 45 Bill Holmes     R R 54  0  5   5  3  70.1  63 10  32  26 20  58 3.33 .240  0  0 
 MR 15 John McDonald   L L 49  0  2   2  4  59.1  39  4  18  18 23  68 2.73 .186  0  0 
 MR 20 Dylan McGee     L L 46  0  4   2  1  60.2  62  1  26  20 30  49 2.97 .266  0  0 
 MR 38 Desmond Wass    R R 63  0  6   3  4  74.2  45  5  13  12 21 109 1.45 .170  0  0 
 MR 36 Jason Yeo       R R  7  0  1   1  0  10.2  13  2   5   4  1   6 3.38 .277  0  0 
 CL 18 Gunner Parker   R R 58  0  1   7 38  57.1  54  8  30  28 13  63 4.40 .244  0  0 
 CL 55 Vincent Tidwell R R  4  0  0   1  0   5.2   2  1   1   1  2   7 1.59 .111  0  0

Blue Jays Batting Stats

Code:

POS  # Name              B T   G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS SB CS 
  C 91 Robert Francis    L R 140 533 143 26  5 19  78  76 50  52 .268 .338 .443 .781  0  1 
  C 52 Johnny Miller     R R  48 134  29  8  3  3  18  11 12  34 .216 .285 .388 .673  1  3 
 1B 16 Mauro López       L L 162 621 154 16  1 43 112  98 65 180 .248 .324 .485 .808  2  0 
 1B 11 Donovan Sampson   R L  23  81  25  9  0  0   8  13  4  22 .309 .348 .420 .768  8  3 
 2B 14 Ryan Turvill      R R 155 608 175 54  7  7  58 105 94  59 .288 .387 .434 .821  27 5 
 3B 12 Gerardo Cortéz    R R  96 301  80 17  4  4  46  32 18  87 .266 .326 .389 .715  2  3 
 3B 57 Álex Marrero      R R  59  96  18  4  0  1   6   5  2  38 .188 .200 .260 .460  0  0 
 SS 35 Nick Beecher      R R 154 548 115 33  5 14  54  67 42 183 .210 .285 .365 .650  31 13 
 SS 41 Roberto Díaz      L R 121 347  88 19  5  6  33  43 10  39 .254 .281 .389 .670  7  9 
 LF 16 Gabriel Vargas    R R 154 626 126 21  8 25  84  79 40 136 .201 .249 .380 .629  48 12 
 LF 34 Vince Barker      R R  18  54  16  2  0  2   5  11  3  15 .296 .333 .444 .778  0  0 
 CF 53 Matt Harrell      R R 128 438 115 22  7  9  39  50 29 120 .263 .320 .406 .727  25 12 
 CF 24 Sung-ho Ch'oe     R R 124 436 113 27  2  3  48  46 18  18 .259 .288 .351 .638  27 11 
 RF 39 Russ Wesman       R L  38 138  33  6  3  2  21  15  7  36 .239 .298 .370 .668  7  3 
 RF 32 Tad Sanders       L L 162 628 175 32  7 19  90  90 73 124 .279 .354 .443 .797  18 12

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 03:09 PM

MLB Announces 2008 Award Winners

November 12th, 2008

Gold Gloves - American League

SP - Scott Ware (Baltimore Orioles)
C - Vincente Quintana (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
1B - Greg Barrett (Baltimore Orioles)
2B - Andrew Norman (Chicago White Sox)
3B - Roland Hicks (Boston Red Sox)
SS - Rick Potts (Boston Red Sox)
LF - Dave Miller (Texas Rangers)
CF - Carlos Hernandez (Texas Rangers)
RF - Jose Ortega (Baltimore Orioles)

Gold Gloves - National League

SP - Billy Ingram (Pittsburgh Pirates)
C - Luis Mercado (LA Dodgers)
1B - Bob Hall (Philedelphia Phillies)
2B - Juan Morales (Cincinnati Reds)
3B - Ruben Morales (Philedelphia Phillies)
SS - Francisco Rodriguez (Chicago Cubs)
LF - Xavier Cortes (LA Dodgers)
CF - Eduardo Blanco (Houston Astros)
RF - Alfonso Flores (Colorado Rockies)

Rookie of the Year Award - American League

C Kelsey Christiensen (Chicago White Sox)
The 23 year old hit .308 with 24 HR 86 RBIs and scored 82 Runs in 142 games.

Rookie of the Year Award - National League

1B Wayne Whiffen (Florida Marlins)
The 26 year old hit .268 with 155 hits 40 2B 7 3B 26 HR and 88 RBIs and scored 65 Runs in 158 games.

Cy Young Award - American League

SP Carlos Ruiz (Toronto Blue Jays)
The 25 year old sported a 19-6 record with a 2.31 ERA. He threw 241 innings allowing 212 hits struckout 269 walked 58 and opponents hit just .215 against him.

Cy Young Award - National League

SP Dana Summers (Arizona Diamondbacks)
The 30 year old was excellent this season going 21-2 with a 2.44 ERA. He tossed 258 innings struckout 262.

American League MVP Award

CF Norm 'Spike' Watkins (Cleveland Indians)
The 28 year old hit .280 with 169 hits 32 HR 9 3B 30 2B 90 RBIs and scored 104 runs.

National League MVP Award

CF Angel Martinez (Philedelphia Phillies)
The 27 year old had a great season where he hit .315 with 186 hits 30 2B 9 3B 38 HR and had 108 RBIs. He also scored 110 Runs.

ryan008 · 11-20-2007, 03:56 PM

Jays Announce Minor League Award Winners

December 21st, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced today the annual player of the year awards for each level in their minor league system:

AAA Syracuse
Russ Wesman
.302 24 HR 96 RBI (with AAA Syracuse)
.239 2 HR 21 RBI (with Toronto)
The 22 year old was drafted in the 2nd round 38th overall in the 2005 First Year Player Draft by the Detroit Tigers and was traded to Toronto in 2008. He has made great strides this season in AAA and faired fairly well in limited time with the Blue Jays. He has a chance to break into the Jays outfield in 2009.

AA New Hampshire
C Cesar Torres
.322 2 HR 23 RBI (with AA New Hampshire)
The 21 Year old was drafted in the 1st round 18th overall by Arizona in the 2006 First year Player Draft and was traded to the Jays in 2007. He has progressed quickly and put up a very good avverage in just about every level in the minors. His power numbers aren't that great but he is still young. He will be headed to AAA Syracuse next season and could be a callup come September.

High A Dunedin
RF Phil Kessler
.318 8 HR 38 RBI (with A Dunedin)
The 24 year old was drafted in the 6th round 155th overall in the 2004 First Year Player Draft by Tampa Bay and traded to the Jays in 2007. He had really anything special in the minors until this season where he had a bit of a breakout season. He will be haeded to AA New Hampshire next season and at 24 still has a year or two left of developing to do.

Low A Lansing
2B Ken Wright
.323 5 HR 68 RBI (with A Lansing)
The 24 year old was a 5th Round Pick 137th overall in 2007 by the Blue Jays. He has moved fairly quickly through the system starting in Pulaski and then Auburn and Lansing this year. He will start the season with High A Dunedin in 2009 and still has an outside chance at cracking hte big club in a few years.

Short Season A - Auburn
3B Russell Matthews
.328 3 HR 42 RBI (with SA Auburn)
The 21 year old was a 3rd round pick 77th overall of Toronto in the 2007 First Year Player Draft and is quickly rising up the Baseball America list of top prospects. He is the #83rd rated prospect in baseball righ now nad with his performance in Auburn this year should climb higher. He is very young and will be sent to Low A Dunedin to start the 2009 season but if he repeats his performace from 2008 AA New Hampshire is not out of the question.

Pulaski - Rookie League
RF Ron Sweeney
.358 9 HR 50 RBI (Pulaski (R))
The 20 year old was a 3rd round pick 67th overall of the Blue Jays in the 2008 First Year Player Draft and had a huge season for Pulaski. He performed much better than I believed he would in his first year of professional baseball. Because he is young and I don't want to rush him he will start 2009 with Low A Lansing and if he struggles he could end up back in Auburn when the Short Season starts.

11-19-2007, 11:41 AM	#25
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	St. Louis Wins World Series October 28th, 2007 The St. Louis Cardinals are celebrating in the streets as for the 3rd time in the past 4 years their team has captured the World Series Title. The Cardinals defeated the Minnesota Twins in 5 games to capture the crown. The Cardinals posted the best record in baseball in 2007 at 106-56 and were the only team to win 100 games. The Cardinals boast one of the best pitching stafs in baseball lead by SP Frank 'Stone' Fields who went 24-2 and SP Felipe 'Quack' Lopez who had a 22-5 record. In terms of offence the Cardinals are lead by 28 year old C Leon Robles who hit .270 with 27 HR and had 90 RBIs and rookie LF javier Padilla who hit .295 with 11 HR and 45 RBIs. Last edited by ryan008; 11-20-2007 at 09:26 AM.

11-19-2007, 01:32 PM	#28
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Announce Minor League Award Winners December 21st, 2007. The Toronto Blue Jays announced today the annual player of the year awards for each level in their minor league system: AAA Syracuse RF Tad Sanders .296 9 HR 96 RBI (with AAA Syracuse) .274 6 HR 18 RBI (with Toronto) The 24 year old was drafted in the 2nd round 39th overall of the 2002 First Year Player Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He has moved up through the Jays system at a fairly steady pace and is poised to head into Spring Training with a shot at making the big league club for 2008. AA New Hampshire 2B Bill Coffey .274 6 HR 63 RBI (with AA New Hampshire) The 26 Year old was drafted in the 17th round 510th overall by Baltimore in the 2004 First year Player Draft and was signed by the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in 2005. He will likely not ever get promoted past AA and is a prime example of just how depleated my high minor leagues are. High A Dunedin CF Francisco Vargas .342 19 HR 104 RBI (with A Dunedin) The 26 year old was drafted in the 7th round 191st overall in the 2004 First Year Player Draft by Toronto. He had struggled in the minor leagues until this season but put up good numbers in Dunedin. He is gettin old at 26 and it is unlikely he will progress much farther than AA. Low A Lansing RF Clark WIlson .295 13 HR 64 RBI (with A Lansing) The 25 year old was a 1st round pick 5th overall in 2005 by Toronto and has been a dissapointment thus far. he has struggled in his first two professional seasons but finally turned the corner in 2007 batting close to .300. He has the talent and potential to be an allstar but is getting a little old to be playing A Ball. He will start the 2007 season in AA and hopefully will see AAA by the end of the season. Short Season A - Auburn C Cesar Torres .353 3 HR 46 RBI (with SA Auburn) The 20 year old was a first round pick 18th overall of Arizona's in the 2006 First Year Player Draft and came over from the Diamondbacks in a trade in 2007. He adjusted well to the better pitching in the New York Penn League and will be headed to a Lansing for the 2008 Season. Pulaski - Rookie League 1B David Callahan .374 1 HR 19 RBI (Pulaski (R)) He was a 15th Round Pick 442nd overall by Toronto in 2006 and at only 23 still has some time to develop. He has shown that he has a good bat batting .374 this year and .335 in Pulaski last season. His power production is not very good right now but I think it will come. He will be headed to A Lansing for the start of the 2008 season. Last edited by ryan008; 11-22-2007 at 12:58 PM.

11-19-2007, 02:30 PM	#29
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Offseason Comes to a Close. Team Gears up for Spring Training. March 6th, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays and GM Ryan Stewart finished a busy offseason that saw them make a couple of minor moves. GM Ryan Stewart "We weren't able to pull the trigger on any big deals but we made a couple of signings and a few trades that we think will help us in the long run" Blue Jays Trade CF Konishi to Detroit GM Ryan Stewart announced that the Toronto Blue Jays have traded Japanese CF Yashushi Konishi to the Tigers for 22 year old Canadian LF Russ Wesman. Wesman was a 2nd round pick 28th overall by Detroit in 2005 and hit .299 with 14 HR and 59 RBIs for AAA Tuscon. He will be invited to Spring Training but will likely start the season in AAA with Syracuse. Blue Jays Sign Dominican 3B GM Ryan Stewart announced today that they have signed 3B Gerardo Cortez to a minor league contract and have invited the 6'3" 225 lbs 3B to Spring training. GM Ryan Stewart on the signing "he is a good looking young hitter who looks like he could hit for a good average and some power. he also plays a great defensive 3B and can run fairly well for a big man. He could crack our lineup as early as 2008" Blue Jays Sign MR Ben Gordon The Toronto Blue Jays have come to terms with 22 year old free agent MR Ben Gordon. Gordon spent the 2007 season in the Arizona Diamondbacks Organization going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 9 innings with Arizona and 3-2 with 7 SV and a 4.51 ERA in 51.1 innings with Tucoma AAA. He was released by Arizona in 2007 and the Jays signed him to a 1 year $540,000 contract. Jays Trade Veteran RF to the Mets GM Ryan Stewart announced today that the Club has parted ways with 36 year old RF Reynaldo Vasquez sending him to the Mets for 19 year old SP Stan Collins. Vasquez spent his entire career in Toronto after being selected by the team in the 2000 Inagural Draft. He has 2 years remaining on his contract and by trading him the club will save roughly $22,000,000 dollars. The Blue Jays get 19 year old SP Stan Collins who went undrafted in the 2007 First Year Player Draft but was signed to a minor league contract by the Mets in December 2007. He has yet to pitch at the Professional level and will start in 2008 with the Pulaski Blue Jays. Last edited by ryan008; 11-20-2007 at 08:10 AM.

11-19-2007, 03:24 PM	#31
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Defeat Oakland 4-1 on Opening Day April 6th, 2008 The Toronto Blue Jays opened the 2008 season with a victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of a sellout crowd in Oakland. The Game was started by SP Carlos Ruiz (6-2 3.12 ERA in 2007) for Toronto and Oakland countered with SP James Bauer (8-19 3.88 ERA in 2007). Blue Jays rookie 3B Roberto Diaz crushed a 385 ft homerun in the 3rd inning in his first major league plate appearence and C Robert Francis went 3-3 with 3 RBI as the Jays cruised to a 4-1 victory. SP Carlos Ruiz (1-0) went 7.1 innings allowing only 4 hits and 0 Earned runs, walked 1 and struckout 10 in the victory. Oakland SP James Bauer (0-1) went 6 innings and allowed all 4 Jays runs on 7 hits walking 4 and striking out 5. Jays CL Gunner Parker pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn his first save of the season. Last edited by ryan008; 11-22-2007 at 12:59 PM.

11-20-2007, 10:11 AM	#33
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Take OF with 7th Overall Pick June 1st, 2008. The 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft was held today and the Toronto Blue Jays had the 7th overall selection in each round. GM Ryan Stewart discussed what type of player the Jays were looking for with such a high pick "When you draft in the top 10 picks you are looking for a player who could be the cornerstone of your franchise down the road. A player that you can build your team around. In this years draft we are more interrested in position players rather than pitchers (specifically starters) since we have accumulated some nice depth with a couple of trades over the last few years. As always we are looking to take the best player availiable and hopefully you will see them in the majors sooner rather than later" Toronto Blue Jays 1st-3rd Round Picks LF Calvin White (1st Round) 22 Years Old, 6'5", 165 lbs Bats: R Throws: R Rider University - College (NCAA) Potential Ratings: 10/10/1/10/10 Rating @ LF: 10 Arm: 9 Comment: The future lead off hitter for the Blue Jays. He does everything but hit homeruns. He will hit for a high average and can fly on the basepaths but has virtually no power at all. He could also be a future gold glove winner with his range and arm in the outfield. He hit .375 with 0 HR and 23 RBIs in the NCAA in 2008. Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2009-2010. I think he could move through the system quickly. His ratings are already fairly well developed. The only issue may be adjusting to the pitchers in professional ball. He will start in Pulaski but could get as high as Low A Lansing depending on his performance. 2B Felipe Cortez (2nd Round) 19 Years Old, 6'2", 210 lbs Bats: R Throws: R San Bernardino Highschool, California - Highschool (USHS) Potential Ratings: 9/10/8/10/9 Rating @ 2B: 4 Arm: 4 Comment: An offensive 2B who is only below average defensively. He also will not steal very many bases and is not very quick on the basepaths. He could be moved over to 1B in the minors but I don't have a lot of depth at 2B so he may stay there for a while. He hit .360 with 3 HR and 13 RBI in 2008. Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2012-2013. Although he has very good potential ratings his current ratings are very low (1/1/2/2/4). I think he will have a hard time adjusting to wooden bats and better pitching and may need a few years in Pulaski and Auburn before he moves into more serious competition in A Ball and higher. RF Ron Sweeney (3rd Round) 19 Years Old, 5'100", 170 lbs Bats: L Throws: L Newark Highschool, New Jersey - Highschool (USHS) Potential Ratings: 10/9/7/5/10 Rating @ RF: 7 Arm: 8 Comment: Sweeney has a lot of potential and I see him as being a 4th outfielder with the outside shot at starting in the Big leagues. He has the ratings to hit for a good average and provide some power and has an excellent eye at the plate. He is a quick baserunner and could steal some bases. He is also an adequate defensive RF and has an above average arm. He hit .374 with 10 HR and 24 RBIs in 2008. Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2010-2011. I think that he will require some extra time int he low minors before he gets promoted to the higher levels. He is very young at 19 and has a lot of time to develop and we will ove him through the system slowly. Toronto Draft Summary: Total # of Picks: 20 Total # of Pitchers Selected: 8 (4 SP, 3 CL, 1 MR) Total # of Position Players Selected: 12 (2 3B, 2 2B, 4 OF, 2 C, 2 1B) Total # of College Players Selected: 10 (4 SP, 2 OF, 1 CL, 1 C, 1 3B, 1 1B) Total # Of Highschool Players Selected: 10 (2 CL, 1 MR, 2 2B, 2 OF, 1 C, 1 3B, 1 1B) Last edited by ryan008; 11-20-2007 at 10:47 AM.

11-19-2007, 08:29 AM	#21
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Toronto Fans Livid over Trade July 30th, 2007 Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays were outraged to learn that GM Ryan Stewart had traded 3 of its starting players to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many fans believed that the GM is throwing in the towel too early and that despite being in last place in the American League East the Jays still have a chance to make a run at the wild card and Post Season Play. GM Ryan Stewart defended the trade "Anytime you have the oppertunity to bring in 3 quality players like we did here you have to do it. CF Aquilino Ortiz, 1B Willis Hicks and LF Xavier Cortes are all in contract years and it was going to cost too much to keep them all. By trading them now we get a major league ready starter in SP Carlos Ruiz who will slot in as our #2 starter and 2 prospects who despite being young are close to major league ready and will be a big part of the Blue Jays future. In 2-3 years this trade could be looked at as building the foundation of a World Series Winner"

11-19-2007, 08:46 AM	#22
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	SP Hugh Jacobs traded to White Sox July 31st, 2007 The Toronto Blue Jays and GM Ryan Stewart announced that they have traded vetran SP Hugh Jacobs to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for LF Gabriel Vargas. In 19 games this year the 29 year old SP Hugh Jacobs was 5-12 with a 5.70 ERA in 121.2 innings. He has allowed opponents to hit .289 off of him and has struck out 55 batters. He was drafted by the Yankees in the first round 25th overall in the 2000 First Year Player Draft and was traded to Toronto in 2005 from Pittsburgh. LF Gabriel Vargas is a 26 year old who has spent the past 3 years in the Chicago White Sox Organization. He was a 2nd round pick 41st overall in 2003 by the Texas Rangers and was traded to the White Sox in 2004. In 2007 he has hit .289 with 22 HR and 64 RBIs and sports a .328 onbase percentage. GM Ryan Stewart on the trade "With the addition of SP Carlos Ruiz we had 6 starters and only 5 spots and we would have had to pass a player through waivers to send them to AAA so we had to make a deal and SP Hugh Jacobs was the odd man out. We get a good young outfielder in return who will help us fill the void left by the loss of LF Xavier Cortes"

11-19-2007, 09:18 AM	#23
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Post .500 Record in June and July August 1st, 2007 The Toronto Blue Jays managed to go 24-24 in June and July and pushed their overall record to 44-62. They are still in last place in the American League East division trailing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by 15.5 games. They no longer have the worst record in baseball and have moved to within 14 games of the Chicago White Sox for the Wild Card Spot. Although the Jays have shown signs of improvement over the last 2 months it is unlikely that they will be able to mount any serious run at either the division title or a wild card spot. GM Ryan Stewart was asked about what he would like to see out of his club for the last couple of months of the season "We would like to play .500 ball and try and post a winning record in August, September and October. If we can do that we can head into the offseason on a high note and have some momentum to carry over into the 2008 season. September is going to be a big month for us. We are going to bring up a number of key young players that we think cancompete for a roster spot next season and it gives us a chance to get a look at what they can do right now" Blue Jays SP Fred Harris released GM Ryan Stewart announced that 43 year old SP Fred Harris has been released by the Blue Jays. "When SP Jorge Tamayo went on the DL we had to call up SP Adam Barber and when Tamayo returned Barber would have had to pass waivers to be sent back down to AAA. We tried to trade Fred but there were no takers and then we designated him for assignemnt and passed him through waiver but no one claimed him. We offered him a spot in the AAA rotation but he refused and we were left with no other option but to release him" Said GM Ryan Stewart. In 15 games in 2007 harris was 2-9 with a 6.24 ERA. Jays Sign Free Agent 3B Alex Marrero Gm Ryan Stewart announced that they have come to terms on a 1 year $540,000 contract with free agent 3B Alex Marrero. The 28 year old Marrero was a 3rd round pick 67th overall in 2003 by the Chicago Cubs and has not played professional baseball at all in 2007. GM Ryan Stewart "We signed him to provide some depth on the infield and some speed on the bases. he won't hit for a high average or a lot of power but should help us as a backup" Blue Jays Have Lone representative at 2007 Allstar Game The 2007 Allstar game was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Metradome and the Toronto Blue Jays had only a single player chosed for the American League Squad. SP Tony Chaved did not play as the National League defeated the American League 2-1 on a 2 out 2 run homerun in the top of the 9th inning by Chicago Cubs CF Jack Wright off of Detroit Tigers CL Matt Murphy.

11-19-2007, 12:25 PM	#26
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	MLB Announces Award Winners November 12th, 2007 Gold Gloves - American League SP - Tom Donahue (Baltimore Orioles) C - Chris Willie (Minnesota Twins) 1B - Ken Scott (Cleveland Indians) 2B - Andrew Norman (Chicago White Sox) 3B - Roland Hicks (Boston Red Sox) SS - Chad Brown (Cleveland Indians) LF - Roy Riggall (Boston Red Sox) CF - Kickibei Inagaki (LA Angels) RF - Ryan Green (Boston) Gold Gloves - National League SP - Alberto Lopez (San Diego Padres) C - Luis Mercado (LA Dodgers) 1B - Steve Strong (San Diego Padres) 2B - Jim Mitchell (Atlanta Braves) 3B - Mark Best (LA Dodgers) SS - Rick Potts (Chicago Cubs) LF - Leon Rivera (Colorado Rockies) CF - Eduardo Blanco (Houston Astros) RF - Alfonso Flores (Colorado Rockies) Rookie of the Year Award - American League CF David Gilbert (Minnesota Twins) The 26 year old hit .336 with 190 hits 12 HR 93 RBIs and scored 94 Runs in 151 games. Rookie of the Year Award - National League SS Fred Baker (Colorado Rockies) The 23 year old hit .320 with 166 hits 10 HR and 70 RBIs and scored 75 Runs in 153 games. Cy Young Award - American League SP Tony Chavez (Toronto Blue Jays) The 26 year old sported a 20-9 record with a 2.06 ERA. He threw 262.1 innings allowing 203 hits struckout 251 walked 65 and opponents hit just .209 against him. Cy Young Award - National League SP Frank Fields (St. Louis Cardinals) The 26 year old was spectacular this season going 24-4 with a 1.58 ERA. He tossed 239.2 innings struckout 295 and opponets batted just .191 against him. American League MVP Award CF Norm 'Spike' Watkins (Cleveland Indians) The 27 year old hit .288 with 158 hits 32 HR 11 #B 31 2B 93 RBIs 74 BB and a .370 OBP. He also scored 106 runs. National League MVP Award CF Luis Manuel 'Skippy' Ramirez (Arizona Diamondbacks) The 33 year old had a great season where he hit .315 with 184 hits 34 2B 5 #B 35 HR and had 108 RBIs. He also scored 107 Runs.

11-19-2007, 01:11 PM	#27
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Lose 3 Players to Free Agency November 19th, 2007 All across Major League Baseball free agents filed today and here in Toronto 3 players were not offered new contracts by the Blue Jays. MR Hector Aponte, MR Jorge Navarro and 2B Sancho Perez. GM Ryan Stewart was asked why the trio were not resigned "We really want to take the team in another direction. Specifically our bullpen. We would like to get some fresh young arms in there. We believe that if the bullpen can improve over last season we will do significantly better in the standings" The Blue Jays currently have about $18,000,000 in budget room availiable should GM Ryan Stewart want to add to the Jays roster. He was asked if the Jays would be players in the free agent market this season "We probably won't go after any of the big name free agents that are out there but there are a few lesser know players that we may be interrested in. There is also the trade route and we have already had a number of clubs express interest in CF Yasushi Konishi who we signed in September last season" Blue Jays Sign Venezuelan MR The Blue Jays took a step forward in revamping their bullpen with the signing of Venezuelan MR Angel Ferreria. The 24 year old received a 1 year $540,000 contract and will be invited to Spring Training to attempt to win one of the vacated bullpen Jobs. GM Ryan Stewart on the signing "He is a hard throwing righthander who can bring his fasball in the 96-98 MPH range. His control needs some work but he looks like a very good young arm for the back of our bullpen"

11-19-2007, 02:58 PM	#30
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Spring Training Over: Jays Fly Home for the Start of the 2008 Season March 1st, 2008 The Toronto Blue Jays will open up the 2008 Regular Season in Oakland to face the Athletics. The Blue Jays just finished a very busy offseason and Spring Training that saw the team take a much different shape than the one that took the field in 2007. 2007 Toronto Blue Jays Roster: Starting Pitchers: SP Carlos Ruiz - 6-2 3.12 ERA (with Toronto) SP Tony Chavez - 20-9 2.06 ERA (with Toronto) SP Cisco 'Millionaire' Gallegos - 8-12 4.49 ERA (with Toronto) SP Jorge Tamayo - 5-11 5.30 ERA (with Toronto) SP Adam Barber - 2-2 3.94 ERA (with Toronto) Bull Pen: MR Desmond Wass - 5-3 2 SV 2.69 ERA(with Toronto) MR Dylan McGee - 2-0 1 SV 2.70 ERA (with Toronto) MR Ben Gibson - 3-2 7 SV 4.41 ERA (with Tucoma AAA) MR Bill Holmes - 3-3 2 SV 4.40 ERA (with Toronto) MR John McDonald - 2-5 SV 4.43 ERA (with Toronto) MR Angel Ferreria - NO 2007 STATS CL Gunner 'Voodoo' Parker - 8-6 35 SV 4.38 ERA (with Toronto) Position Players: C Roberto Francis - .250 13 HR 61 RBI (with Toronto) C Johnny Miller - .245 2 HR 15 RBI (with Toronto) 1B Mauro Lopez - .221 37 HR 96 RBI (with Toronto) 2B Ryan Turvill - .262 3 HR 41 RBI (with Toronto) 3B Gerardo Cortez - NO 2007 STATS 3B Alex Marrero - .181 4 HR 11 RBI (with Toronto) SS Roberto Diaz - .212 3 HR 57 RBI (with Toronto) SS Nick Beecher - .221 23 HR 91 RBI (with AA Syracuse) LF Vince Barker - .167 1 HR 2 RBI (with Toronto) LF Gabriel Vargas - .220 7 HR 24 RBI (with Toronto) CF Sung-ho Ch'oe - .268 2 HR 22 RBI (with Toronto) CF Matt Harrell - .242 10 HR 47 RBI (with Toronto) RF Tad Sanders - .274 6 HR 18 RBI (with Toronto in September)

11-20-2007, 08:26 AM	#32
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Playing .500 Baseball at the Quarter Pole of the Season June 1st, 2008 The Toronto Blue Jays have compiled a record of 25-25 after 2 months of Regular Season Baseball. The Blue Jays are currently in 3rd Position, 4 games back of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles who are tied for the lead in the American League East. The Jays are also only 4 games back of the Boston/Baltimore, The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians for the American League Wild Card. The Blue Jays are playing very good baseball ringt now being lead by staff Ace SP Carlos Ruiz who has gone 5-1 with a 1.98 ERA this year. They are being lead offensively by 1B Mauro Lopez who has 12 HR and currently leads the American League in that department. The Jays have also had a number of injuries this year as 5 different Jays have spent time on the DL. The latest is CF Matt Harrell who is out for 3 weeks with a fractured finger. Recently aquired RF Russ Wesman has been called up to take his place. GM Ryan Stewart on his teams performance "I am very happy with how we have performed so far. We are right in the thick of the playoff hunt and there is a good possibility that we could be fighting for a post season spot come September"

11-20-2007, 12:07 PM	#34
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	June-July Update: Jays 6 Games over .500 but Still 5.5 Back in AL East August 1st, 2008. The Season has reached its halfway point and the Toronto Blue Jays have a record of 54-48 but are still on the outside of the Playoff Picture looking in. The Jays trail 1st Place Baltimore by 5.5 games in the AL East and they trail the Wild Card leading Detroit Tigers by 3.5 games. The Jays have an uphill battle as they have both the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Boston Red Sox ahead of them in both the Wild Card and AL East Standings and will have to leapfrog both teams in order to get into the postseason. Blue Jays GM Ryan Stewart commented on his clubs play "We have been playing good fundamental baseball over the last month and we have also managed to stay healthy. When you put the two together you have a team that is playing better than .500 baseball" Jays Send 3 Players to San Diego for Allstar Game The Toronto Blue Jays sent SP Tony Chavez, SP Carlos Ruiz and 2B Ryan Turvill to PETCO Park in San Diego for the 2008 Allstar Game. The game was started by Detroits SP John 'Stocky' McIntyre (9-5 3.12 ERA) for the American League and Arizona's Ace SP Dana 'Cranky' Summers (12-2 1.93 ERA). It was an exciting game that went to the top of the 10th inning before being decided. Chicago White Sox C Kelsey Christiensen was the hero as he doubled home Minnesota Twins 2B Mark Porter with 2 out to give the AL a 6-5 lead. Detroit Tigers CL Alejandro Gonzalez pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th inning as the AL Held on for a 6-5 victory. Boston Red Sox CL Harold Gilmour got the win for the AL and Philedelphia Phillies CL Robby Hodge took the loss for the NL. It was a very uneventful game for the Blue Jays representatives as only 2B Ryan Turvill made an appearence. He pinch hit in the 8th inning and struckout on 3 pitches to end the frame. SP Tony Chavez and SP Carlos Ruiz did not pitch in the game. 2008 Trade Deadline: Jays Swap Minor Leaguers with Arizona GM Ryan Stewart announced that the Toronto Blue Jays have aquired CL Vincent 'Vulture' Tidwell from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league SS Matt McInturff. CL Vincent Tidwell is a 25 year old righthander who was a 19th round selection of 558th overall of the Diamondbacks in the 2006 First Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University. He has spent the entire 2008 season with AA Tennessee going 5-6 with 16 SV and a 3.93 ERA. SS Matt McInturff is 26 and was drafted in the 12th Round 339th overall in 2001 by the Cincinnati Reds. He was released by the Reds and signed to a minor league contract by the Blue Jays in 2006. He spent all of 2008 in AAA Syracuse and has hit .235 with 12 HR and 35 RBIs. GM Ryan Stewart on the trade "We tried to go out and make a few big trades to try and push us over the hump and get us into the playoffs but the price was just too steep. It seemed like every trade the other teams wanted one of our young arms and they are untouchable. Arizona proposed this trade to us and it works out well for everyone. We get another good arm that can help us in our pen as early as next year and SS Matt McInturff gets a change of scenery and a chance with another organization" Blue Jays Miss Out on Big Trade at Deadline, But Sign Ace SP Tony Chavez to 5 year Extension. GM Ryan Stewart was all smiles as he flanked Jays Ace SP Tony Chavez today andd announced that the Jays have agreed to a 5 year $55,500,000 contract extension with the 26 year old hurler that will keep him with Toronto until 2014. The contract pays Chavez $11,100,000 a season for 5 years. The 26 year old has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays after being taken by the team in the 1st round 21st overall in 2001. He has a career record of 78-46 with a 2.84 ERA and 1119 career strikouts. GM Ryan Stewart was thrilled with his decision to remain in Toronto "We couldn't be happier. We locked up a front line starter for a long time at a very reasonable contract. He will be the foundation that we build our pitching staff around in the future" Blue Jays Top Pitching Prospect Suffers Horriffic injury Toronto Blue Jays top pitching prospect SP Roberto 'Cupcake' Manuel suffered a ruptured Ulnar Collateral Ligament throwing a pitch in a game for AAA Syracuse. Team doctors confirmed the worst and he is going to miss at least 7 months. GM Ryan Stewart "This is a big loss for the club. He was a prime candidate to get a callup for September and was a fovorite for a spot in the Starting rotation in 2009. He is young so hopefully he can bounce back from the injury" In 24 starts in 2008 for AAA Syracuse Manuel is 12-7 with a 3.09 ERA. Last edited by ryan008; 11-20-2007 at 12:08 PM.

11-20-2007, 01:02 PM	#35
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays - Orioles Finish Regular Season Tied for AL East Lead. 1 Game Playoff to Decide Winner October 6th, 2008 The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles finished the regular season with identical records of 91-71 and are tied for the American League East Division Title. The Jays held a 1/2 game lead heading into the final day of the Regular Season. The Jays had already fiished their season but the Orioles faced the New York Yankees. The Game took 18 innings to play but the Orioles would prevail and force a 1 game playoff with the Blue Jays. The Jays, Orioles and Detroit Tigers are also all tied for the American League Wild Card so there are still 2 playoff spots up for grabs and 3 tiems vieing for them. Blue Jays Sign Pair of Possible Free Agents GM Ryan Stewart announced today that they have signed a pair of the Blue Jays possible free agents in CF Matt Harrell and SP Jorge Tamayo. CF Matt Harrell agreed to a 2 year $1,280,000 contract that will pay the 30 year old $640,000 a year for the next 2 seasons. In 2008 with Toronto Harrell has hit .261 with 7 HR and 34 RBIs. SP Jorge Tamayo agreed to a 3 year $5,460,000 contract extension that pays the 27 year old $1,820,000 per year. In 29 games with Toronto in 2008 Tamayo is 11-14 with a 4.33 ERA. Blue Jays Call Up 4 Players for September The Toronto Blue Jays have added 4 players to their roster for the month of September. CL Vincent Tidwell (3-2 8 SV 5.95 ERA), MR Jason Yeo (8-5 7 SV 2.31 ERA), RF Russ Wessman (.302 24 HR 96 RBI) and 1B Donovan Sampson (.257 32 HR 104 RBI) all from AAA Syracuse.

11-20-2007, 01:43 PM	#36
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Lose 1 Game Playoff - Miss Division Title by 1/2 Game. Will Play Tigers for Wild Card Spot in 1 Game Playoff October 7th, 2008 The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles played a 1 game playoff at Camden Yard today to determine who would be crowned the American League East Champions. Unfortunately for Jays fans the Orioles took the game by a score of 5-2. Baltimore rookie SP Carlos Delgado got the start for the Orioles and went 7 strong innings allowing just 5 hits and 2 earned runs. He walked 1 and struckout 4 to earn the victory. Toronto countered with SP Cisco Gallegos who went 6.2 innings allowing just 4 hits and 5 earned runs, he walked 3 and struckout 4 in the loss. Baltimore CL Pedro Suarez pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to Earn the Save his 40th of the year. The silver lining for the Blue Jays is that they will face the Detroit Tigers in a 1 game playoff for the Wild Card spot in the AL East and that their playoff hopes are not dead yet. The game will be played at the Rogers Center in Toronto. Detroit will start SP Carl Perkins (14-7, 4.56) and Toronto will counter with SP Carlos Ruiz (19-5 1.99).

11-20-2007, 01:57 PM	#37
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Season Finished; Lose 7-2 to Detroit October 8th, 2008 The Toronto Blue Jays were hammered today by the Detroit Tigers in a one game playoff to determine who would get the Wild Card Playoff Spot. The Orioles scored 5 times in the 6th inning on a 2 run homerun by 1B Jesus Gomez and a 3 run HR by CF Sergio Medina off of Jays SP Carlos Ruiz to take a 5-1 lead. The Tigers would add 2 more in the 8th to take the game 7-2. SP Carlos Ruiz took the loss for the Jays and SP Carl Perkins threw 7.1 innings allowing only 6 hits and 1 earned run with 0 walks and 7 strikouts in the victory. GM Ryan Stewart was visiably upset with his teams performance in the post game interview "It is unacceptable. We get outscored 12-4 in important life or death games. It was like we didn't even bother to show up. We are going to really take a good hard look at this roster for next season" With the loss the Blue Jays season offically comes to a close and the Playoff matchups are set: American League Championship Series Oakland Athletics Cleveland Indians Baltimore Orioles Detroit Tigers Wild Card Winner National League Championship Series* Houston Astros New York Mets Philedelphia Phillies Arizona Diampndbacks Last edited by ryan008; 11-20-2007 at 02:12 PM.

11-20-2007, 03:09 PM	#39
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	MLB Announces 2008 Award Winners November 12th, 2008 Gold Gloves - American League SP - Scott Ware (Baltimore Orioles) C - Vincente Quintana (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) 1B - Greg Barrett (Baltimore Orioles) 2B - Andrew Norman (Chicago White Sox) 3B - Roland Hicks (Boston Red Sox) SS - Rick Potts (Boston Red Sox) LF - Dave Miller (Texas Rangers) CF - Carlos Hernandez (Texas Rangers) RF - Jose Ortega (Baltimore Orioles) Gold Gloves - National League SP - Billy Ingram (Pittsburgh Pirates) C - Luis Mercado (LA Dodgers) 1B - Bob Hall (Philedelphia Phillies) 2B - Juan Morales (Cincinnati Reds) 3B - Ruben Morales (Philedelphia Phillies) SS - Francisco Rodriguez (Chicago Cubs) LF - Xavier Cortes (LA Dodgers) CF - Eduardo Blanco (Houston Astros) RF - Alfonso Flores (Colorado Rockies) Rookie of the Year Award - American League C Kelsey Christiensen (Chicago White Sox) The 23 year old hit .308 with 24 HR 86 RBIs and scored 82 Runs in 142 games. Rookie of the Year Award - National League 1B Wayne Whiffen (Florida Marlins) The 26 year old hit .268 with 155 hits 40 2B 7 3B 26 HR and 88 RBIs and scored 65 Runs in 158 games. Cy Young Award - American League SP Carlos Ruiz (Toronto Blue Jays) The 25 year old sported a 19-6 record with a 2.31 ERA. He threw 241 innings allowing 212 hits struckout 269 walked 58 and opponents hit just .215 against him. Cy Young Award - National League SP Dana Summers (Arizona Diamondbacks) The 30 year old was excellent this season going 21-2 with a 2.44 ERA. He tossed 258 innings struckout 262. American League MVP Award CF Norm 'Spike' Watkins (Cleveland Indians) The 28 year old hit .280 with 169 hits 32 HR 9 3B 30 2B 90 RBIs and scored 104 runs. National League MVP Award CF Angel Martinez (Philedelphia Phillies) The 27 year old had a great season where he hit .315 with 186 hits 30 2B 9 3B 38 HR and had 108 RBIs. He also scored 110 Runs.

11-20-2007, 03:56 PM	#40
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Announce Minor League Award Winners December 21st, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays announced today the annual player of the year awards for each level in their minor league system: AAA Syracuse Russ Wesman .302 24 HR 96 RBI (with AAA Syracuse) .239 2 HR 21 RBI (with Toronto) The 22 year old was drafted in the 2nd round 38th overall in the 2005 First Year Player Draft by the Detroit Tigers and was traded to Toronto in 2008. He has made great strides this season in AAA and faired fairly well in limited time with the Blue Jays. He has a chance to break into the Jays outfield in 2009. AA New Hampshire C Cesar Torres .322 2 HR 23 RBI (with AA New Hampshire) The 21 Year old was drafted in the 1st round 18th overall by Arizona in the 2006 First year Player Draft and was traded to the Jays in 2007. He has progressed quickly and put up a very good avverage in just about every level in the minors. His power numbers aren't that great but he is still young. He will be headed to AAA Syracuse next season and could be a callup come September. High A Dunedin RF Phil Kessler .318 8 HR 38 RBI (with A Dunedin) The 24 year old was drafted in the 6th round 155th overall in the 2004 First Year Player Draft by Tampa Bay and traded to the Jays in 2007. He had really anything special in the minors until this season where he had a bit of a breakout season. He will be haeded to AA New Hampshire next season and at 24 still has a year or two left of developing to do. Low A Lansing 2B Ken Wright .323 5 HR 68 RBI (with A Lansing) The 24 year old was a 5th Round Pick 137th overall in 2007 by the Blue Jays. He has moved fairly quickly through the system starting in Pulaski and then Auburn and Lansing this year. He will start the season with High A Dunedin in 2009 and still has an outside chance at cracking hte big club in a few years. Short Season A - Auburn 3B Russell Matthews .328 3 HR 42 RBI (with SA Auburn) The 21 year old was a 3rd round pick 77th overall of Toronto in the 2007 First Year Player Draft and is quickly rising up the Baseball America list of top prospects. He is the #83rd rated prospect in baseball righ now nad with his performance in Auburn this year should climb higher. He is very young and will be sent to Low A Dunedin to start the 2009 season but if he repeats his performace from 2008 AA New Hampshire is not out of the question. Pulaski - Rookie League RF Ron Sweeney .358 9 HR 50 RBI (Pulaski (R)) The 20 year old was a 3rd round pick 67th overall of the Blue Jays in the 2008 First Year Player Draft and had a huge season for Pulaski. He performed much better than I believed he would in his first year of professional baseball. Because he is young and I don't want to rush him he will start 2009 with Low A Lansing and if he struggles he could end up back in Auburn when the Short Season starts.