« Heyman On Matsui, Bradley, Dye, Chapman | Main | Brewers Owner Acknowledges Fielder Could Be Dealt »

Odds & Ends: Gillick, Moronta, Halladay, Rays

By Zach Links [September 28, 2009 at 4:07pm CST]

Here are some choice links to kick off the afternoon...

Former Phillies and Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick is not interested in a return to Toronto, writes ESPN's Buster Olney. However, the 72-year-old would not rule out handling baseball operations for another team down the road.
Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that Eladio Moronta - one of the toolsiest players in Latin America - is now eligible to be signed, five months after being suspended for lying about his age.
Manager Cito Gaston doesn't see the Blue Jays holding on to Roy Halladay if the team doesn't make other improvements, writes Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun.
Russell Branyan could return to the Mariners in 2010, according to Larry LaRue of The News Tribune. Branyan was raking before the all-star break, posting .280/.382/.573 with 22 HRs before being bogged down in the second half by a back injury that cost him the month of September.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times asked and answered questions regarding what the offseason might hold for the Tampa Bay Rays. Amongst other things, Topkin says there is no way that the Rays will trade Carl Crawford, nor will they decline to pick up his $10MM option for 2010. Crawford is still a great value at that price as Fangraphs values his 2009 performance to be much higher than that.
Joe Maddon doesn't expect to make any changes to his coaching staff, writes Marc Lancaster of The Tampa Tribune. Maddon says he'll meet with his coaches at season's end, as they are all up for renewal.
If Dusty Baker has his way, pitching coach Dick Pole and hitting coach Brook Jacoby will return in 2010, says John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Under Pole's instruction, the Reds have seen their team ERA improve from 4.55 a year ago to 4.19 in 2009.
Brewers infielder Craig Counsell recently turned 39-years-old but still intends to play in 2010 according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Comments

"Before the all-star break, Branyan was raking, posting .343/.415/.611 with 15 HRs."

According to ESPN, his numbers before the all-star break were .280/.382/.573/.955 with 22 HRs. But maybe he had that slash line at some point earlier in the year (although the average seems high)?

Posted by: WY | September 28, 2009 at 03:02 PM

But Branyan pulls this crap every year.

5/25/08 to 6/27/08: .300/.387/.775 with 11 HR in 26 games

Remainder of 2008 season: .173/.271/.288 with 1 HR in 24 games

Every season, Branyan is red hot for a month or two, and then he's god-awful for the rest of the season, which is why he always accumulates around 200-250 at bats per season, but never any more.

I really hope that front offices don't forget about this when looking at Branyan this offseason.

Posted by: scribbletone | September 28, 2009 at 03:48 PM

I don't understand this Halladay business. They aren't going to hold onto him now? Do they really think they are going to get a deal better than the 4-5 top prospects offered by the Red Sox? Are they trying to move him to the NL in the offseason? Or are they just plain dumb....?

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Make like the Montreal Expos and just dissolve, move, and change the name of the Toronto Blue Jays, fire Riccardi and please please please sell the franchise. Even as a Red Sox fan who loves seeing AL East teams struggle, these Blue Jays teams are beyond pathetic. Spending close to $100MM a season and can't piece a decent enough team together to warrant holding onto their ace? Not to mention he's a top 5 pitcher in MLB and probably the best pitcher in MLB considering he's done what he's done year in and out in the toughest division in baseball.

I like to see competitive baseball. I like seeing the Yankees back in the postseason. I enjoyed last year watching the Rays surge (who are also idiots for moving Kazmir regardless of the "damaged goods" factor), I enjoyed watching the Phillies establish themselves as a premier team in baseball after being the worst franchise in sports for years. My Sox ended an amazing drought and won twice. I just honestly think teams like the Royals should just be done away with and we should move toward establishing a more competitive atmosphere. This of course starts with a salary cap because I do hear owners pulling for it now. Every other sport has it. Its time after last years ridiculousness, and not just on the part of the Yankees (though mostly). Closers who pitch one inning should not be getting 10+MM deals. There is no excuse for it. Yet idiots like Riccardi, Cashman and Minaya don't understand the concept. Theo does, and Papelbon will be shipped off to the highest bidder if he wants to demand that kind of money, proving it doesn't matter how good you are, as I think most would agree Pap's the second best closer in baseball next to Mo, and will probably break many closer records.

Posted by: Santana/Beckett FTW | September 28, 2009 at 04:39 PM

and one more thing. If I were Gillick, I would love nothing more than sitting there and laughing in the face of the Blue Jays organization for how far they've fallen.

Posted by: Santana/Beckett FTW | September 28, 2009 at 04:42 PM

Papelbon will eventually "break many closer records." ???

Homerism, much?

Posted by: bucs_lose_again | September 28, 2009 at 05:07 PM

What?

The Jays have actually been a pretty good team the last few years.

And you said how you liked that the Phillies were able to improve from being a bad organization and then went right into talking about how the Royals should be destroyed, because they're a bad organization.

And the Gillick thing is stupid. Why would he be laughing? It's not like they fired him, or anything. He 'retired' or whatever and then decided to go to Baltimore.

Posted by: Bitey | September 28, 2009 at 05:11 PM

The 5 player deal the Red Sox allegedly offered for Halladay was crap. The only position player in the lot was a left fielder, which the Jays already have too many of. And the Gaston quote is completely informationless. Yes, if the Jays plan to send out guys like Millar and Dellucci then they might as well trade away Halladay. Of course the exchange rate is much better now than it was at the end of last year's world series, so even if the team's ownership doesn't invest any more money, the same amount of money would have 15% more buying power.

Posted by: Torgen | September 28, 2009 at 06:00 PM

#1. I hate delusional Red Sox fans that think their success is a product of good managing. When you have a competitive advantage through the draft, FA, and trades...yeah, it becomes quite a bit easier to succeed. The best teams in baseball this year (and basically every year) are the ones that spend the most money.

#2. The Jays finished with 87 wins in the AL East, and have been above .500 for the majority of the years that Ricciardi ran the team. Toronto also has one of the largest media markets in North America. They aren't going the way of the Expos.

Posted by: Fullmer Fan | September 28, 2009 at 09:20 PM

Sorry for the immature interlude, but...

The Reds' hitting coach is named "Dick Pole"?

Seriously?

Posted by: The Globalizer | September 29, 2009 at 02:57 PM

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by: |

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Your comment could not be posted. Error type:

Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Odds & Ends: Gillick, Moronta, Halladay, Rays

Comments

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Post a comment

Top Stories

Search MLBTR

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

MLBTR Mailing List

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats


Home Contact About Advertise Archives Widget Twitter RSS Usage