The Big Hurt

Last night, I went to a Toronto Blue Jays game. My co-worker and I, along with two of his friends, decided to tie one on and start chirping the Washington Nationals. It was a great time as we were creatively trying to come up with insults that wouldn't get us kicked out of the game. Words, such as "fuck" and "gay" will get you kicked out of your seats pretty quickly I am told. I tended to emphasize the promiscuity of their right-fielder's sister.

The Nationals are the worst team in the league and they Jays happend to win; but, the Jays have lost quite a few games this year. Obviously, the guys that I was with decided to put their two cents in. Every guy in the world will always want to try and fix something even if its not broke. In this case, the topic was the Jays and what we would do to help make this team better.

Frank Thomas, aka "The Big Hurt", was one player we thought the Jays definetely didn't need. The guy's batting average is in a piss-poor range of about .220. Granted, his on-base-percentage is in a respectable range as he draws a lot of walks. The reason why we would get him off the team is the fact that his salary is in the $10 million range. This money could be spent a lot better in many other areas of the team.

The Big Hurt is the Jays' designated hitter. His job is to swing the bat. He doesn't have to play any defence whatsoever. You would think that this guy would be able to hit the damn ball into the field every once and awhile. $10 million is a lot of money for a guy just playing half of a game (offence).

The Jays, like many other teams, need pitching. They could have used the money they would have spent on Thomas on trying to get some quality pitchers in the rotation. Even if there aren't many pitchers available on the free-agent market this year, take the money and save it for next year. The Jays surely have some young and upcoming talent that could play and get major league experience in that roster spot. Thomas is holding the team back.

The counter argument would be that $10 million wouldn't buy you a solid rotation. Truth be told, it wouldn't. However, it may be the difference between signing say Tomo Ohka and a quality pitcher. If you can throw a guy a couple of extra million on top of what you pay Ohka, one, you wouldn't have Tomo Ohka, and two, you might have a quality pitcher. I'm not talking Roy Halladay (Cy Young caliber) here. I just think the Jays need a guy that can win 50% of his games. With guys like Halladay already in the rotation, this difference may make this team a playoff team. It would be nice to see a playoff game in Canada again. '92 and '93 had some great memories. At this rate though, it may be awhile before that happens again.

Rita MacNeil at it again...

God, I wish that lady would stop singing. The Sens brilliant run to the Stanley Cup finals is finally over, and, although I am disappointed, I am quite pleased with the Sens run to the cup. The Sens exorcised many of their demons this spring, and it made for an excellent month and a half of hockey as a Sens fan.

First, Alfie was a monster. He led all playoff players in goals scored. He physical and was a force on the ice to be reckoned with. Although he didn't win the cup and Alfie is starting to get old, the nucleus of the Sens lineup is still in tact and I predict they will be a force again next year. They got a taste of what the cup taste likes, but now they will be hungrier than ever.

Speaking of the nucleus of the team, the Sens roster was outplayed by the Ducks. After reading an article by James Duthie, it turns out that the Sens had some ailing players. Up to six Senators had serious injuries ranging from bad groins to separated shoulders. Even if they had of been healthy, I don't know who you would trade off that team. The Sens were one of the most balanced attacks in the NHL, and considering they will be hungrier for a cup next year, I would not be trading this talent away.

With that, I had been a critic of Wade Redden's play. I distinctly suggested that he was overpriced and no longer was needed before the playoffs began. Arguably, he had some weak performances in the regular season as well in the playoffs, but somehow he changed my opinion. I thought Redden had played terrifically against the Buffalo Sabres, and that he was an integral part of why we had so much success against them. It is in that series where I saw his value.

When Joe Corvo was being criticized by mostly everyone in Ottawa earlier in the season, I know that I was one of the few that still believed in his ability to turn things around. For Wade Redden, I believe that he has the capacity to turn things around and the reason for his sluggish play at times was due to a nagging groin injury. I hope that the Sens do not trade away Redden. He'll be able to turn things around. The Sens struggle in the season when he was out of the lineup, so they are better off to keep him.

Next, I want to give management the respect it deserves as well. Melnyk could have easily cleaned house when the Sens were stuggling earlier in the year. Melnyk decided that he would not interfere with the hockey operations and it almost paid off huge dividends. They made it to the cup finals and thats something to be proud of. As for John Muckler, there were two major incidences during the year that are distinct in my mind. First, he believed that the Sens would pull through their early season funk. They did. Second, he believed that the Sens didn't need to make a big splash at the trade deadline. There was huge pressure to acquire Gary Roberts, but Muckler believed that the current team had what it took to make it to the finals. They did.

Although I respect Muckler's faith, I believe that its almost time for him to step aside and let Bryan Murray control the team. I believe that Bryan Murray would make some changes to the lineup. He has a system that he wants in place and he has witnessed who has played hard for him, so he should be able to judge who he should have on his team. Bryan Murray was the guy that drafted Getlaf and Perry in Anaheim, and I believe they were the difference makers in the series. Although I don't like Getlaf personally, I do respect his hockey talents and what he can bring to the ice. For that, Bryan Murray knows what he needs in a hockey player and can help to rebuild the youthful talent that Ottawa used to be so good at accomplishing. Muckler has drafted poorly and he has made some questionable trades in the past. Last year, the best thing for him to do was nothing. He let Bryan Murray control the variables. Bryan Murray should have complete control over the variables.

Wants Stanley back home,
Chad