Once Again, Just Sayin'

Whenever the "he's only _______ short of the cycle" talk starts and names like Kelly Gruber and Jeff Frye bounce around; my thoughts turn, as usual, to Carlos Delgado. And how much more badass (and noteworthy) his four home run game is than the cycle. 16 total bases son, that ain't nothing to fuck with.

Re-defining Quintessential

Ian the Blue Jay Hunter provided an excellent service and, in term, a excellent window into the mindset of a fanbase. Voting Joe Carter the quintessential Blue Jay by a decent margin shows Jays fans great love of the glory days.

Unfortunately for me, my overwhelming cynicism causes me to think this way: there's been a lot more quoteunquote heartbreak through the Jays storied history than triumph. What better epitomizes the true Blue Jays spirit than excellence toiling away in relative obscurity? Ten years of Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay grabbing individual awards (or having them grabbed from them) while the team futilely trudged along.

The unending brilliance of Tony Fernandez might have ruined a generation's throwing arms¹, the indifferent achievement of Delgado and Halladay is truly the quintessential Blue Jays experience.

¹ - "Throw it overhand, dammit. Your arm won't get any stronger throwing it sidearm like that!" Many dads, 1984-2000 inclusive.

Image courtesy of the New York Daily News.

Your 2011 Blue Jays Managerial Shortlist

Sure he lacks any experience and kinda sorta might want to still play. Carlos, your highness, I'm here to tell you that your playing days are over - you have a higher calling.

Managing a baseball team is all about managing egos and personalities while not driving your team straight into a mountain. Manage the bullpen, let good hitters get more at bats than bad ones, etc.

Carlos Delgado is an erudite, thoughtful guy with a strong humanitarian background. He's Latin (but not enough to scare away the Dougies of the world) and played the game (at a high level for a long time coughcoughClarencecough) so, failing an upset of everything that is good and just in the world, he'd instantly earn the respect of the clubhouse.

He doesn't come with the built in slurp record of (clowns) like Bobby Valentine or whatever "big name" manager being drudged up as a favor to old allies. Honestly, who cares? Make him a hitting instructor or bench coach to some grizzled old battle veteran so he can "learn the game" or some such nonsense.

There are 146 million other reasons Carlos Delgado might make an interesting managerial choice: he understands the pressures and experiences of signing an insanely high contract extension. He knows, as Adam Lind now does, about balancing the pressing need to deliver the goods with what I can only assume is an overwhelming desire to coast. No Overmanagin' scrub can identify with those traits, though they're the single biggest reason Delgado won't be in a rush to juggle egos and Bob Elliott's Favrian text messages.

Whether he'd handle the pitching staff with The Manager's deft touch or just kind of sitting there in a state of perpetual shock like the previous stunt hire remains to be seen. Misguided as this may be and a sucker as I apparently am, I just want to have a classy, smart, likable guy back in the mix.

The More Things Change

One year ago today, I celebrated one year of GROF goodness. That post leads with the rumors/whispers connecting the Jays with then disgruntled former Jay farmhand Michael Young. So here we are today, on the second anniversary of Ghostrunner on First, listening to more whispers and innuendo around a different former player.

Fortunately for all in involved, The Player in question isn't a spilled milk ex-prospect but one of the true faces of the franchise. Might the Jays make a nostalgia play for greatest slugger the team has known? At the risk of stunting the growth of certain prospects, yes.

First things first, no matter who AA brings in to flesh out the roster, ain't nobody taking at bats away from Adam Lind. He is as entrenched as it gets. He's no prospect; he's an every-dayer in The Manager's eyes. Second; while some commenters and bloggers alike worry about impeding the progress of legit blue chippers like Wallace and Snider, others rightfully point to Ruiz and Dopriak as stop-gaps all the same. Who cares if Randy Ruiz's progress is halted, he's Randy Ruiz. Do you have an emotional investment in Ruiz? Probably not. But I'll be damn surprised if you don't have at the very least fond feelings towards Delgado.

Another angle: maybe a glut of first basemen doesn't impact Wallace at all. As I've said before, perhaps the jury is not yet out on his potential as a third baseman. Taking at bats away from EE is hardly damaging and could end up a blessing.

Because the money will be manageable, and because controlling service time is right at the forefront of the new front office's mind, I don't think this is a bad thing at all. Which of course means it won't happen. Why can't we have nice things?

Thanks to Bill Kralovec for the image and every single person who reads, comments, emails, ignores, hates, enjoys, subscribes, dismisses, or even pretends to care about what they read here. I owe you all more than you know.

Hail to the King

I know he's not a Jay anymore, and he's unlikely to ever be one again, but how fucking awesome is Carlos Delgado? I've stated before they should straight up retire his number, none of that Level of Excellence shit. He's awesome to watch, swings a slick stick when the weather is nice, and he keeps his head much farther from his ass than most ballplayers.

His awesomeness rich but pitching poor Puerto Rican team's ouster from the WBC is a real shame, specifically because it was Carlos's team. He asked to wear Roberto Clemente's number 21 in 2006, some PR suits said no. This time around they asked him to wear it! Awesome.

Carlos Delgado's offensive projections for 2009 are pretty consistent, offering between 28 and 36 home runs, wOBA's from .343 to .372, and offensive wins above average from 0.5 to 2.5. Aside from wrist injury hampered 2007 (Overgado!), Carlos has provided about 3 wins a season since 2004. Depending on the economic climate next winter, he could make any team needing a classy motherfucker to DH happy.

Alex Rios in his element

Not content to let Delgado steal all my love, Alex Rios did all the Riosian things we should expect of him in 2009. Stolen base, massive home run, strong (but hopelessly late) throw to the plate, and my favorite: the incredulous look he shot Carlos Betran after the Met stole a home run from Brian McCann. It's as if Rios didn't know to react, like he wasn't allowed to be happy that they were in a good position to win the game. Oh Alex, you're my sketchpad.

Korean Baseball - Small but Powerful

I love American broadcasters using "Asian" interchangeably with "girly-armed sissyball", but the Koreans have pop. They've hit more home runs at Petco than the cartoonishly flashy Cubans. I don't know what it is, but I don't want Cuba to succeed. Must be the skinny baseball pants and the indentured servitude. One of the two.

Bleed Maple Syrup

I don't see many Canadian movies, but seeing One Week today more than made up for that. It is easily THE MOST CANADIAN MOVIE OF ALL TIME. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, despite being a saccharine hybrid cancer/road movie. If Joel Plaskett busking and Gord Downie puffing are your thing, check it out soon. You know you love Pacey, don't try and deny it.

Off Days or the Old Days - A Time for Reflection

What? No real baseball for two more days? As enticing as Jays - The Coached Interview sounds (voiced by legendary rapper Saukrates. Legendary thanks to his world famous track...uhhhh I suppose Let's Ride was decent song that he didn't make worse), I demand real baseball satisfaction. So I'll look to the past. Thus far this season, we've seen offensive failure of the beyond comprehension, so we will look back to the annals of Blue Jays greatness. What Jay could revive this spellbound offense and propel this team to greatness? In other words, what was the greatest offensive season in Blue Jay history?

Your nominees:

1. Jesse Barfield - 1986. There haven't been too many 40 home run seasons in Blue Jay history, so the first one is bound to stick out. Barfield had a strong year, adding 35 doubles to his 40 home runs, though he walked only 69 times. He finished with an OPS+ of 146. Looking at his monthly stats, it appears that young Jesse really, really wanted to get to 40 home runs. He went crazy in the fall, hitting 10 jacks in September but killing his season average and striking out like a madman in the process.
   
   This was certainly his career season, one in which he finished 5th in the MVP voting. Jesse Barfield was far and away my favorite player as a kid, probably fueled by this 40 home run outburst. Was it the best in Blue Jay history?
   
   
2. George Bell - 1987. This man was the first (and only) Blue Jay to win the MVP after his massive 1987 season. His 47 home runs remain a club best and his .605 slugging percentage is second among Jays. He was certainly not the patient slugger (39 walks?), but his strikeout numbers are downright respectable. 134 RBI, 111 runs scored while notching an average higher than his BaBIP.
   
   I'm pretty sure George Bell was an ornery prick that nobody liked, yet he still stole that MVP from Wade Boggs (yeah, I said it. 40 doubles, 24 home runs and a .469 OBP? Only good for 9th in the MVP voting. A shame, though Boggs is also a punk.) George had a pretty fucking great season, but the best?
   
   
3. John Olerud - 1993. Holy fucking shit. John Olerud was an animal this year. If only he hadn't gotten caught in the downward spiral of drug abuse. We've all heard the stories about his fucking 3 girls at a time just cause he could; doing blow and screaming "I'm hitting .400 bitches, lick my glorious balls!" at the dark Toronto sky. The demons really got a hold of him, it's a Canadian tragedy.
   
   Honestly though, what a year. 54 doubles (suck it Overbay), a .599 slugging percentage combining with his high walk totals to give him an OPS+ of 186. I was going to comment on his absurdly high BaBIP of .375 but the man hit .363! It isn't even that far off! He hit a shit-tonne of line drives, got on base and hit fifth on the World Series Championship team. A definite candidate for greatest Blue Jay season.
   
   
4. Shawn Green - 1999. Coming off a 30/30 season, Shawn Green followed up with a monsterous '99. 42 home runs, 123 RBI while cutting his K numbers and raising his OBP to a career high. His OPS+ almost mirrored Barfield's at 143. He spent nearly the entire year hitting in front of Carlos Delgado, a place that has been known to inflate numbers and offensive potential.
   
   It is easy to forget how awesome Shawn Green was, and his 134 runs scored are a team record. It may not be the best season but it certainly contributed to one of the worst trades. P.S. Fuck you Ryan Braun, this is the true Hebrew Hammer.



5. Carlos Delgado - 2000. When it is all said and done, I hope that they move Carlos Delgado's name above the Level of Excellence and straight-up retire his number. A hokey gesture perhaps, but he really had the greatest career of anyone in a Blue Jay uniform. While his 2003 season was incredible, his 2000 was off the charts.
   
   The second highest Blue Jay average of all time, the highest slugging percentage, second highest OBP, highest OPS and the second highest OPS+. More doubles than any Blue Jay (57), more walks than any Blue Jay (123), more RBI than any Blue Jay at that point (134, a record he would surpass in 2003). Let us not forget a grand total of NINETY-NINE extra base hits. He also played in all 162 games, cured diptheria and annihilated more ass than undercooked ribs.
   
   Somehow, this massive season didn't garner a single first-place MVP vote. Somehow, the writers saw fit to pronounce Jason Giambi the most valuable player, with Alex Rodriquez and Frank Thomas finishing ahead of Carlos. People hit a lot of home runs when they were on drugs. Will he garner votes for greatest Blue Jay season of all time?

There you have it. Apologies to Fred McGriff, Vernon Wells and Alfredo Griffin who's seasons didn't make the cut. Cast your vote beneath the picture of Joe effin Carter. Leave a comment reminding me how great _______ was in 19__.