Ricciardi: Gaston to return as Jays manager

Central Imagery Tasking Office...open, for now.

“Cito’s definitely going to be back,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Thursday. “He’s done a good job. We’re six games over .500 since he took over. We’ve got a long way to go offensively, but he’s really laid the groundwork for some of the right stuff offensively. The guys like playing for him.”

The Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons on June 20 and gave the job to Gaston for the rest of this season. When they made the move, Ricciardi said he would sit down with Gaston after the season to discuss his status for 2009.

Going into Thursday night’s game against Oakland, the Blue Jays were 23-17 since Gaston took over — the fourth-best record in baseball during that span. Toronto was in fourth place in the AL East at 58-56.

Gaston, 64, joined the Blue Jays as a batting coach in 1981 and became manager for the first time in 1989, replacing Jimy Williams. He led Toronto to consecutive World Series titles in 1992-93 but was fired at the end of the 1997 season.

Big League Stew: Brown: Mike Mussina talks New York, Orioles, economics

Cervus canadense is right, sir!

Q: The Onion has written a few satirical stories with you as a character.

MM: Who?

Q: The Onion, the satirical newspaper that writes fake joke stories? You don’t know the Onion?

MM: Nope.

...Q: How can some people say we’re not in a recession?

MM: I think the only reason they can say that is because the numbers haven’t moved the right percentage to officially be called a recession. But when the price of gas goes up 200 percent in four years, homes are going under and people are struggling, I don’t know how you can’t call it one now. OK, the world keeps spinning and I must [jumps down from bench] be going!

Phillies acquire reliever Eyre from Cubs

While driving from Chicago to his Florida home, Scott Eyre got the “fresh start” which he had sought.

That fresh start will come with the Phillies, who completed their search for an experienced second lefty reliever by acquiring Eyre from the Cubs for Minor League right-hander Brian Schlitter on Thursday.

“I asked how their bullpen was, and if they were just looking for guys, and they said, ‘No, we think you can still pitch,’” said Eyre, who will join the Phillies on Friday. “I said, ‘Great, I’m ready to go.’”

B.J. Upton Pays For Not Hustling On Ground Ball To Pitcher

Hustler’s Taboo: Warning Non-sexual Content (well...Joe Maddon is involved).

CF B.J. Upton may have saved the day for the Rays with a spectacular catch on a long fly ball Tuesday night against Cleveland, but not running out a ground ball later in the game got him benched Wednesday.

“You just can’t pick and choose when you’re going to put your effort out there,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It has to be there all the time.”

Upton hit a ground ball back to pitcher Edward Mujica in the eighth inning of the Rays’ 8-4 victory. Assuming it would be an easy out, Upton didn’t sprint toward first. But Mujica bobbled the ball and had to go to a knee before throwing for the out.

The play might have been somewhat close.

“It happened; it’s over with,” Upton said after Tampa Bay’s 10-7 win Wednesday. “There’s no need to dwell on the negatives. There isn’t much I can say other than I guess I didn’t run it out. The positive is, my legs got a day of rest.”

Rays beef up bullpen, acquire Bradford from Orioles

Rays...No longer a Wannabe.

The first-place Tampa Bay Rays acquired reliever Chad Bradford from Baltimore on Thursday, bolstering their bullpen with a proven postseason pitcher.

The Rays claimed the submarining right-hander on waivers, then got him from the Orioles in a trade for a player to be named.

The 33-year-old Bradford is 3-3 with a 2.45 ERA this year. The durable reliever has made 47 appearances and thrown 40⅓ innings.

Bradford has a 0.00 ERA in 17 playoff games spanning 15⅓ innings — no active reliever has pitched more innings in the postseason without giving up a run.

Andy Pettitte likely to miss next start

Mussina and Pontoon™ and pray for Monsoon*

*stolen from bebop at RLYW

N.Y. Yankees Top 5 Pitching Prospects

The Yankees are on the verge of creating one of the more talented groups of young pitchers in the nation (of course, the recent struggles of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain’s latest shoulder concerns could put a damper on the whole process). They have some very talented pitchers coming up through their system, and the Yanks could have a very strong rotation in 5 to 8 years.

Rank, Player, Age.

1. Jairo Heredia, 18…

BPro: Silver: Bonds Bingo

This Bonds deal is going on longer than Drew Danburry’s “I’m Pretty Sure This Is Someone Else’s Song But I Couldn’t Figure Out Whose So I’m Keeping It (Bop-Bop)” !

Ultimately, though, what has happened is that the 30 major league teams have conspired (not literally, I’d hope) to run down Barry Bonds’ clock. There are a number of decent fits, but no one great one, and if you’re only renting a player for the scope of 35 or 40 ballgames, the marginal contribution is going to be fairly small—not more than an extra win on the season for any of these clubs. If you were going to sign Bonds, the time to have done so would have been much earlier in the season.

Nevertheless, I would keep a watchful eye on the Mets. If Bonds ends up in anybody’s uniform, it’s likely to be that one, as Omar Minaya is an active GM who finds himself with few other alternatives and a lot of pressure to reach the playoffs. But the odds are overwhelming that Bonds isn’t going to be wearing anybody’s jersey, and that instead he’s going to be sitting on his couch come October.

American Idol David Cook takes batting practice with New York Mets

Refreshments were provided by the good folks at Jaerock Lee Industries.

American Idol winner David Cook took batting practice with the Mets today before their game against the San Diego Padres, and ripped a couple nice hits to right-center field while batting lefthanded under the watchful eye of David Wright.

Cook, 25, who also threw out the first pitch, has the exact same birthday as Wright—Dec. 20, 1982. He grew up playing Legion baseball in Blue Springs, Mo., and was a fan of the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs.

In fact, Cook was wearing a Chiefs baseball cap—signed by, of all people, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and former Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko—when he hit the field. The Mets promptly gave him a Mets hat.

``I am a Kansas City sports fan, but I’m a baseball fan, more than anything,’’ Cook said. ``To be able to come to Shea, with all the history and the fact there’s going to be a new stadium next season, is really cool.’’

N.Y. Observer: Megdal: Pedro Versus the ‘Rust’

And no...this has nothing to do with “The Big Ball Orchard in the South Bronx.”

Martinez sometimes appears incapable of getting major league hitters out, particularly early in games—witness his two home runs Wednesday, or the four runs on five hits he gave up to the Cardinals in the first inning on July 2. But he managed, in both games, to give up next-to-nothing over the remaining innings of his start.

Is he merely rusty, and the low innings total—he missed two months from April to June with a hamstring injury—will allow him to pitch more effectively from now until the end of the season? Or is his body betraying him, not only with various ailments, but for the first time, keeping him from the pinpoint command that made him a legend? Even Pedro doesn’t know what to expect from himself.

“No, I can’t really predict,” Martinez said. “Let’s be realistic. Right now, I can’t tell you—I’ve pitched, what, twice in a month? What I can tell you is that I felt great today. I haven’t pitched like I need to pitch. I will try to stay healthy, and keep making adjustments. I have two months to get better and keep the team in the fight. I will get better, and I think I can take care of it.”

That Guy who gave up number 756 fine with role in history

If you don’t know the name of the person who I am talking about, hand in your Baseball geek-card now.

Forbes: Minor Leagues, Major Profits

With the 20 most valuable minor league teams on the sidebar.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, who moved from Ottawa, Canada, to Allentown, Pa., prior to the 2008 season, were not part of this valuation because of insufficient data.

Once they get sufficient data, I’m sure they’ll be on this list. The IronPigs are 4th in the IL in attendance, just ahead of Indianpolis, which Forbes ranks #5 overall.

BTF should go to Sacramento:

the team will throw you an 80-person fajita party in the James Hardie Party Deck for $3,800.

That’s less than $50 a person. We have guys who lose that in 20 minutes playing poker.

Bob Watson confident of baseball Olympic reinstatement

“I think baseball and softball will be reinstated in the Olympic format,” Watson said. “I think in ‘09 they will vote it back in. They have been lobbying hard behind the scenes. I think that vote is going to be baseball’s return.”

Baseball will not be played at the 2012 London Olympics but it could return as soon as 2016, when the Games could be staged in baseball hotbeds Tokyo or Chicago. Madrid and Rio de Janeiro are the other candidates.

“Global competition is keen,” Watson said. “Baseball has been put out around the world. We are making it a global sport.”

But Watson also made it clear that the Olympics will never feature Major League Baseball stars because the 30-team US league will not shut down its April-September season so top talent can attend the Games.

“The bottom line is we’re not shutting down the season,” Watson said. “Our owners are not going to shut down the season. We’re not going for that.”

Ahh, but Bob… you underestimate the thickheadedness of snobby Europeans…

THT: Ranking baseball’s ethical transgressions

Attention all you cheating rat bastards! Line up (no cutting-in, Daly!) and take this Ethics Exercise!

Imagine a college course where students hang out with Ron Coomer in the bowels of the Metrodome, watch video of Lenny Randle on all fours trying to blow Amos Otis’ famous squibbler into foul territory, spend hours debating nuanced baseball ethics, and ring up Major League umpires for help on their homework. Sounds like too much fun to be true? It’s not. That very course—an academic study in “baseball ethics"—was offered in the spring of 2008 at Carleton College, a top-tier liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota.

...Over the six-week course, students were required to rank these incidents from least ethically acceptable to most ethically acceptable. Quick example: Which was worse—the murder of minor-league ump Samuel White in 1899 by a player who didn’t like one of the ump’s calls and smashed the poor man over the head with his bat, or the decision to exclude African-Americans from organized baseball for decades?

Now imagine 131 others to rank as well. In short, students had to line up these incidents from No. 1 to No. 133, no ties (or extra innings!) allowed. Students say they quickly learned that baseball ethics mirrored deeper undercurrents in American society tracing back deep into the 19th century. What was considered acceptable—both on the diamond and off—in 1880 was very different from what was deemed okay in 1940. Or 2008, for that matter. How ought incidents be compared over time? The students’ final numbers were tallied, thereby producing the first-ever ranking of ethical incidents in baseball.

East Windup Chronicle: Shinsano: Huh? Korea Dismantles Cuba 15-3

Holy jagged cago en tu leche! No wonder the Cubans defect…

I guess there’s some kind of justice in me waxing poetic about watching the Cuban national team play, almost declaring them winners of the gold medal but then seeing them stink up the joint the second time around.

Actually, I think this game is best summed up by the old Korean man who sat behind me. He and his friend snuck from the $10 to the the $25 seats early in the game. Kim Dong-joo hit a bases clearing double to knock in Lee Yeong-gyu and Lee Seung-yeop and the guy cheered.

...At the end of the fifth the man started yelling at Cuba’s DH, Alfredo Despaigne as he ran off the field after warming up with the RF. “Hey,” he yelled with the score at 9-0, “Why don’t you make it a game? I don’t want to go home early you punk.”

All in Korean of course.

Unfortunately for most of us the game had no mercy rule in place and the entire nine innings were played, clocking in at just under four hours. After the seventh inning, in which Korea extended it’s lead to 15-1 the man started yelling, “You #######! Don’t you know how to play baseball?” (Laughter) “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you Cuba?”

Joe Posnanski Blog: Albert the Underrated

Wearing his nifty Fort O’sage One t-shirt...Poz checks into Albert Pujols.

Let’s start with a few numbers. Let’s compare Pujols to A-Rod, who I think would probably win the People’s Choice Award for best player in the game.

Alex Rodriguez: .307/.390/.579 for his career. Best season was probably 2007 when he went .314/.422/.645 with 54 homers and 24 SBs. He probably had four other seasons that roughly compare, and is having a terrific year this year.

Albert Pujols: .333/.423/.619 for his career. Best seasons was probably 2003, when he went .359/.439/.667 with 51 doubles and 43 homers. He probably had five other seasons that roughly compare, and he is having a terrific year this year.

Now, remember that we are probably comparing the two best players in the game, so there is no loser here. But it sure looks to me like Pujols is even better than A-Rod. He gets on base more and he hits for more power. He strikes out about half as often, walks about as much. He plays first base to A-Rod’s third, but he plays it brilliantly, won the Gold Glove in 2006, probably should have won it again in 2007 — his zone rating, while perhaps an imperfect defensive statistic, is once again the best in all of baseball, any position. And there is his staggering consistency — A-Rod has had better-than-150-OPS+ seasons six of the last nine, which is remarkable. But Pujols has had a better-than-150 OPS+ EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF HIS EIGHT-YEAR CAREER. Babe Ruth didn’t do that his first eight years as a hitter. Barry Bonds didn’t do that. Joe DiMaggio didn’t, Willie Mays didn’t, Hank Aaron didn’t, Honus Wagner didn’t and so on.

TFBG: DiCaprio: The Fall Of Jacoby Ellsbury

Yeah, but this was before last night...where he went 3-4, hit a 3-run bomb and dove into the stands to save young Timmie McCuddly from choking on a frisky chunk of a Gates Steak!

Ellsbury is fairly close to hitting rock bottom and is barely even a credible major leaguer in his current state. From a scouting perspective he is essentially a slap hitter with gap power who can be pitched to inside without fear of reprisal. Pitchers are now taking advantage of this inability to hit the inside pitch with authority, this according to Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus and a few other reports I have read.

His recent stats are simply atrocious and reminiscent of a guy who has no business being in the majors:

0 HR 3 RBI 2 SB .226/.235/.262 one (!) walk in 84 ABs 82% contact rate and 28% hit rate.

His contact rate and hit rate are within an expected range, so what does this tell us? That he is making contact but not hitting with authority. At all. He is swinging at everything and making contact with far too many weak batted balls. He has shown zero patience, and the results speak for themselves. Right now he is Cristian Guzman circa 2005.

Rosenthal: Sources: Padres’ Giles claimed on waivers

Thyroc sends over this Robothal…

Padres right fielder Brian Giles has been claimed on waivers, according to major league sources. The claiming team is not yet known.

The Padres have 48 hours from the time of the claim to work out a trade. If no deal is completed, the Padres can take back Giles, or let him go to the claiming team.

San Diego stands to save approximately $6 million by parting with Giles — roughly $3 million that is remaining on Giles’ salary for this season, plus a $3 million buyout for 2009.

...The claiming team is not necessarily a contender. It is possible that a non-contender is willing to land Giles with the idea of keeping him in 2009. The Blue Jays and Rangers considered trading for the Mariners’ Raul Ibanez, another left-handed hitting outfielder, before the non-waiver deadline. Ibanez is a free agent after this season. The Blue Jays were willing to offer him arbitration and have him return next year.

Sun-Times: Zambrano unsure he’ll return to World Classic

Four of the biggest-name players in Venezuela have pulled out of next spring’s World Baseball Classic over a team power squabble, dealing a possible blow to the stature of the fledgling tournament.

And a fifth marquee player from that country could be next: Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, who said Wednesday he’s not sure whether he’ll play.

‘’I don’t know,’’ said Zambrano, who pitched in the inaugural WBC in 2006. ‘’I haven’t made a decision.’’

New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana and Detroit Tigers All-Stars Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez told Venezuelan media they won’t return to the team after playing in 2006. The players reportedly are blaming the Venezuelan tournament committee for problems getting enough tickets and hotel rooms for families, for shoddy organization that led to at least one instance of Burger King postgame meals and for the return of unsuccessful manager Luis Sojo without consulting some of the team members.

“Burger King postgame meals”?  Ok, ok...so the Rodeo Cheeseburger was crap...just remember, One Nation Under Chicken Fries!

N.Y. Daily News: Feinsand: A little history lesson for the Jeter haters

Boy, I guess If you sit next to John Sterling long enough during the N.Y. Daily News Inning (sponsored by Dr. McGlooney’s One Day Gallbladder Removal Service: “Let’s Bile Something Together!")…

I have heard and read plenty of comments in recent weeks criticizing Derek Jeter for his play this year, with some fans even going so far as to say his career is over and the Yankees shouldn’t re-sign him when he becomes a free agent in two years.

All I can say is, you people are nuts.

Is Jeter having a typical year? Not at all. Is he hitting .235 and killing his team? Not even close. Sure, Jeter’s .280 average is about 35 points lower than his career mark, but he’s still hitting .300 with runners in scoring position and .320 with RISP and two outs.

I’ve heard that Jeter has built his career around being a singles hitter who doesn’t do much else. I know home runs and RBI are the sexy stats that everyone likes to look at, but you win the game by scoring runs, and no one has been a more productive run scorer for the past dozen years than Derek Jeter.

...The bottom line is that Jeter is one of the greatest players of our generation, he’s one of the greatest Yankees of all-time and he’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s also the face of the franchise, and seeing him finish his career anyplace else will be a disgrace.

Oaktown: Go Go, GoGo Gio (Pitch fx analyis)

Takes a look at Gio Gonzalez’s debut using Pitch fx data. Gio’s got a lot of movement, maybe too much to control.

Oh yeah and the A’s lose again.

(Arizona St. WR Michael) Jones enjoyed Yankees experience

After his most productive season with the Arizona State football team, receiver Michael Jones put away his pads, opting instead for pinstripes. Jones, who had 46 catches for 769 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns in 2007, spent his summer as a New York Yankees farmhand, playing rookie ball in Tampa.

Through 15 games in the Gulf Coast League, he batted a meager .184 but had five doubles, drew five walks and stole a base.

“Kept on hitting the ball right to people,” Jones said. “But I had a great time. I looked forward every day to playing baseball all day. That’s all you do. You don’t have to worry about school, outside distractions.”

Anyone know his BABIP?

Jones’ line at ASU last season was 172/347/293 - ick - but Dennis Erickson was in the stands during the playoffs!

Bruce: Griffey deserves respect for his loyalty to the Reds

Hail Boggs and the rest of those clowns...time to reopen the Warren Giles Commission!

Junior’s trade to the Reds in 1999 was, to me, the baseball version of the day John F. Kennedy Jr. was shot. I still remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. The only time I’ve ever been that numbly excited was when my first child was born. To say the least, it was a special day.

His tenure as a Red didn’t come close to mirroring the success he had in Seattle, but “The Kid” still fared well in the Queen City. Most of us, with expectations throttling miles into the atmosphere, never noticed or appreciated their most famous native son’s achievements. We didn’t take up for him when he got injured diving for a ball in right-center or sliding hard into third, stretching a double into a triple.

We booed him out of town.

...I love the Reds and have for four decades. The Big Red Machine and Sparky Anderson were staples in the development of my love of baseball as a child. But, Curt Flood and free agency destroyed the loyalty and cohesiveness of the word “team.” In the late ‘70s, baseball became more of a “me for the money” sport than a team effort. That greed continues to this day.

SBJ: MLB Network’s Harlem plans an unnecessary distraction

Some folk say that every once in a while...rising stench from the long-closed Secaucus pig farms will come floating back and curdle-up your unpluckable nose hairs.

Right now, the best-case scenario has MLB Network moving into Harlem by the start of the 2011 season. But that’s only if the property’s developer, Vornado Realty Trust, starts construction soon. It originally was supposed to start last spring, but reportedly ran into financing troubles that delayed it.

For at least the next two years, the network will be operating out of MSNBC’s former studio in Secaucus, N.J., where it is spending a lot of money — tens of millions of dollars, some industry sources suggest — to make those studios ready for HD.

“Because we’re going to be in Secaucus for two years, we decided that we need to make that a full-on high-def facility,” said MLB Network President and CEO Tony Petitti.

Why would MLB spend that kind of money in Secaucus, only to turn around and build the same studio 16 miles away? What possible benefit could MLB get from having such a studio in Harlem, rather than Secaucus? The truth is that plenty of other networks have discovered they are not hindered by studios that are far from major media markets. They get the same caliber of guests and game analysts, plus, they get much cheaper rent.

Sportsline: Miller: One year after No. 756, Bonds still conspicuous—by his absence

Giants principle owner Peter Magowan, who will retire as president and managing general partner after the season, bristles when he hears talk that the club has gone out of its way to whitewash the recent past.

“There are signs out there on the walk behind the wall,” Magowan says, referring to the dozen or so bronze plaques embedded in the cement boardwalk that runs between the ballpark and McCovey Cove—seven of which are devoted to Bonds and his accomplishments. “That’s a bunch of bulls---, that the Giants haven’t recognized Barry Bonds.

“You don’t see pictures of Juan Marichal when you look around (from the stands). You don’t see pictures of Willie Mays, or Willie McCovey. Where are they?”

Plus, the Bobby Etheridge was never built either!

Bugs & Cranks: Smith: Baseball Prospectus hates your team

Hey, so long as they don’t hate you. You’re safe. I think.

If you believe the nerdlingers experts at Baseball Prospectus, the Angels and the Rays are insanely lucky.

According to something called the “pythagorean over-under,” the Angels, by rights, should subtract nine wins from their total for the year. They’re closer to a 62-win team (see Minnesota and the White Sox) than the 71-win squad that sits atop the AL West. Maybe because they play so many games against sorry AL West teams. But Tampa? BP calls them a 61-game-winner, not the 67W team that leads Boston by three games. They don’t have Anaheim’s cupcake schedule, so I can’t imagine why no love for the Rays.

Actually, I don’t have a clue what any of it means. But BP is always good for some nyuks. So, let’s peek at the American League through the Coke-bottle, Buddy-Holly-style, masking-taped glasses of the folks at Baseball Prospectus.

Former Expos manager, baseball scout, author Karl Kuehl dies at 70

Karl Kuehl...another Expo connection. Gone.

Karl Kuehl, a baseball scout, coach, author and player development specialist known for his contributions to the Oakland Athletics teams that won three pennants, died Wednesday. He was 70.

Kuehl died of pulmonary fibrosis in a Scottsdale hospital, his son John said. He had been active until recent weeks, when he was hospitalized.

Kuehl was the manager of the Montreal Expos in 1976, going 43-85 before being fired with two months left in the season.

Wright’s tough error hurts Mets in loss to Padres

The third-place Mets fell three games behind first-place Philadelphia, which beat the Marlins, 5-0.

Martinez went 61/3 innings—his longest outing of the season—and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits. He walked three and struck out three. The state of the Mets’ bullpen without injured closer Billy Wagner likely had a lot to do with Manuel’s decision to let Martinez bat and stay in for the seventh.

Martinez had earlier given up a pair of solo homers. Gerut hit the first pitch of the game out to right-center. One batter later, Giles also homered to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.

Martinez had given up three solo home runs in his previous outing on Friday in Houston, including one to leadoff man Kaz Matsui. Martinez has allowed 13 homers in 56 innings.

Pedro’s last 4 starts:

20.2 ip, 3.05 era, 7 ER, 15 H, 17/11 K/BB, 1.26 WHIP.

Those numbers actually are surprisingly good other than the high walk rate. However, he has allowed 7 home runs which means that the last 7 earned runs he has allowed have come on solo homers. That’s an amazingly high hr/9 of 3.05.

NJ.com: Yankees’ Chamberlain to resume throwing in a week

The Yankees have announced that Joba Chamberlain has “rotator-cuff tendinitis” and will rest for about a week before resuming a throwing program.

It’s a typically conservative treatment program for the Yankees and allows for the possibility he returns this year. But it is also worth noting that when Jorge Posada went on the disabled list in April, his injury was also termed rotator-cuff tendinitis—and he wound up needing labrum surgery.

On the other hand, the Yankees are far less likely to try and push Chamberlain through an injury that will ultimately need surgery than they would Posada.

MLB: Pena powers Rays with walk-off shot

ST. PETERSBURG—Just three outs from their first home series loss in 45 days, the American League East-leading Rays relied on what has been a tried-and-true formula this season: the walk-off.

Tampa Bay rallied from a three-run deficit on Wednesday afternoon to top the Tribe, 10-7, on a three-run homer from Carlos Pena in the bottom of the ninth inning

Six runs without an out in the bottom of the 9th to win.  Sox and Yankee fans: look upon the Rays’ works, ye mighty, and despair!