NBA free-agency maaadness

R.I.P. NBA as we knew it...sort of...the summer-o-fun is off to a massive start...in the T-Dot was it ever conceivable that this city would have more hate for someone than Vince Carter?!?!  I sure am down on Chris Bosh and I am in the majority...on a larger scale how did the once Golden Child of the NBA LeBron James pass #1 hated Kobe Bryant as the top villain in the Association?!?!...Raps (CB4) Cavs (Bron Bron) Suns (Amar'e) Jazz (Carlos Boozer) all lose a franchise-type guy and get zero players in return...heck even the Knicks got talent like Anthony Randolph plus 2 other NBA players for David Lee...Paul Pierce and Disco Dirk both opted out in order to re-sign for less per-year so what will those franchises do to further surround those studs with more firepower?...Cavs owner Dan Gilbert firing an all-caps barrage at his former star...and Pat Riley strikes again...NBA is where amazing happens - until next year when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires and we have a lockout (seriously it's coming)

Of the things written above that we will look specifically at let's start with Pat Riley...he stacked Titles at the helm of the Showtime Lakers of the 80's...if it wasn't for #23 in Chicago he could have really competed for championships - plural - in his Knicks and Heat days of he 90's...orchestrates Shaq trade to pair him with D-Wade in South Beach, and from there follow this - he wins a Title with Shaq - then gets Phoenix to take on that contract in exchange for Shawn Marion - then trades Marion for Jermaine O'Neal (a move the Raptors would do anything to have back) and uses the leverage of that contract coming off the books this summer - THE summer - to help parlay other salary-dump trades to be in this unreal situation of landing Bosh/Wade/LBJ on a roster that had zero sign-and-trade options...with Bosh we know that other teams meant other - BETTER - scenarios...names like Joakim Noah/Anderson Varejo/Andrew Bynum/Luis Scola/Shane Battier/David Lee were all hot-and-heavy rumours at one point or another in exchange for CB4, but Riley gets Bosh and James for only draft picks...I wrote a few weeks ago that Riley had this unthinkable plan back then, and Alonzo Mourning, who works in the Heat organization, said recently that he knew for some time now that the 3 were headed to the Heat...Pat Riley!

All right now on to the NBA's newest Big 3...

Why this will work...

for me this is a small list but of course we want to examine all angles and all sides here...LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are special Superstars...special in that they are obsessed with making the right decision with the basketball irregardless if that means they are getting theirs, or creating for a teammate...they clearly create late-game issues for opponents as they will have a choice between the 2 of them as to who has the weaker defender on them for a last second shot...either can take and make game winners...As for Bosh that collective "WHAT?!?!" you heard during the Wednesday Wade/Bosh espn interview to announce their intentions to be Heat players came from north of the border as Chris Bosh declared that Wade is a "winner" (true) and that he too is a "winner" (pardon cest moi?!?!)...were you able to find anyone in Canada who agrees with that?...truth is Bosh is absolutely not a winner but in this scenario he gets to ride 2 amazing coattails which suits his game and personality perfectly...a piece yet to fall in place for the Heat is the signing of Derek Fisher...now I personally believe that D-Fish will re-up in LA but the Heat and Riley are in hot pursuit of the perfect fit at PG for this unit...even LeBron made sure to meet with Fisher for a bit in the airport in Miami where Fisher was landing to meet with Riley and James was departing for New York to be in Carmelo Anthony's wedding...James is smart enough to know that what separates him from Kobe these days is Bryant's unparalleled mental game, and no one in this league has a better understanding\insight of that then Fisher...his veteran leadership plus ability to impart Kobe-type wisdom and approach to the game will benefit James immensely...this Heat team is public enemy #1 and thus will have immense pressure on them and Fisher is the perfect leader to remain calm and guide his team through any storm

Why this won't work...

Where to start...well lets look at these names - Chris Quinn - Jamal Magloire - Juwan Howard - Earl Watson - Etan Thomas...these are the types of names\players that Miami will have to fill out their roster with due to the obvious lack-of-funds left after signing the Big 3...plus current Heat players like Mario Chalmers, Joel Anthony, and their 2010 draft picks Dexter Pittman, Jarvis Varnado, and Da`Sean Butler...not a lot there to be excited about...

With or without LeBron this Heat club was in desperate need of a legit 7-foot shot blocking Center plus a minimum of 1, likely 2 shooters (looks like they will sign Mike Miller which is nice but he plays LeBron`s position so to get him playing time Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will have to be creative and play guys in different positions)...adding LeBron does nothing to address those areas, in fact leaves little $$$ to address those areas...

For Wade and James they were each eliminated by the Boston Celtics this year and both were victim to the Rajon Rondo coming out party where RR did whatever he wanted, went wherever he wanted, and created whatever he wanted for himself and\or teammates...plus the Celtics have an overwhelming play-off defense...for me the Big 3 signing with Miami does nothing to address that...is Mario Chalmers the answer to Rondo...no sir...even if they sign D-Fish at 36 years old is he the answer to Rondo?  Doubt it...that also leaves Chris Bosh as the #1 defender at the rim vs Garnett\Perkins\Davis...hey good luck with that (Miami is going to find out at some point what a horrible defender Bosh is)

And what about the Chicago Bulls...this Heat team has no answer for Derrick Rose and again have Bosh to defend a front court of Joakim Noah (Noah will outwork Bosh every single possession) and Carlos Boozer...hey good luck with that part II

The Orlando Magic offer an All-Star Point Guard in Jameer Nelson - no answer from Miami - plus Bosh to shut down Dwight Howard...hey good luck with that part III (side note - Howard is approx 2 years away from complete control of this league...when Kobe leaves the NBA it will not be LeBron James' league but in fact D12...take a look at the history of the great NBA Center's and they take their games to that unstoppable level around 28 years old...Howard will be 25 next season and already at a beast level)...Raptors fans saw Howard dwarf Bosh in the play-offs multiple times...and it may be on deck for Heat fans in the summer of 2011 in a playoff series with state rival Orlando...

Boston (Doc Rivers) Chicago (Tom Thibodeau) will be foes for Miami in the East and both have significantly better coaches than the Heat`s Erik Spoelstra...not to mention guys like Phil Jackson (Lakers) Greg Popovich (Spurs) Rick Carlisle (Mavs) in the West

The 2 biggest sub-plots in the Association this year are 1 and 1A...

1 is the Miami Heat are the most hated team in the NBA and I truly wonder if the Big 3 could have seen this coming...their management teams surely would have been smart enough to have their clients understand the probability of some backlash, but did anyone see this coming?

1A - the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after this upcoming season...this could be huge for the Heat...heck this could be huge for all of us NBA fans as a lockout\work stoppage is coming in about 11 months...for the Miami Heat the end results of the work stoppage, and what the new CBA looks like will be of CRUCIAL importance...we already know that Miami has to convince several contributors to come to South Beach for the NBA minimum salary but what if the Owners get the Hard Salary Cap with no Exceptions that they will be insisting on?!?!  (an Exception being like a Trade Exception or a Mid-Level Exception where NBA teams who are already over the Salary Cap can still use Exceptions for trades or to add free-agents)  A hard cap would mean that once you are at the cap max then sorry about your management decisions because that is it...no additions for you...meaning whatever scrubs the Heat surround the Big 3 with this year will be theirs for years to come with no room to add any other players...that could take the Heat from the euphoria they feel currently to a whole lot of "ahhhh crap", especially from the Big 3

Now we know that the Heat`s Big 3 are impressive, but that will do nothing to deter several teams in the East (Celtics\Magic\Bulls will all have the BRING IT ON approach vs the Heat) and if the Lakers can win the West for an amazing 4th straight year they will be confident in a Finals date with anyone out of the East (Lakers beat the best defence out there this year and will feel that they can beat anyone)

UNREAL start to the 2010-2011 NBA season! 

Drop me an email on this or any other blog entry previous....

craig.ballard@hotmail.com

Mid-Term report for Jays

So we have been looking at YOUR TORONTO BLUE JAYS in 27 game chunks...we are now at the end of 27 game segment #3...which also is the midway point of the 2010 season...

We marvelled at the 17-10 record that the 2nd 27 games produced but we did caution that a ROUGH schedule was in store for the Jays during 27 game segment #3...and it was a BAD stretch for this club...10-17 record for segment #3...41-40 overall at the midway mark...Toronto's tumble has them all the way to 10 games back in the AL East...only the D.O.A Baltimore Orioles are worse at this point...

*THE GOOD*

Jays lead all of baseball in team Home Runs...guys like All-Star Vernon Wells (19 HR's) All-Star Jose Bautista (21 HR's) All-Star John Buck (13 HR's) plus shortstop Alex Gonzalez (15 HR's) are on pace for 25+ HR's plus Adam Lind and Aaron Hill are each on pace for 20...

The future of this franchise is the starting pitching...the young, developing starting pitching...and some of that has already begun to blossom...Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, and Shawn Marcum (pictured left) are a combined 20-14 with 31 Quality Starts (a Quality Start is a stat for when a starting pitcher goes at least 6 innings and gives up no more then 3 runs)...Romero and Marcum also have ERA's in the 3's with Cecil just above 4 right now...Marcum is showing himself to be an Ace-of-the-future for this team with a 7-1 record in 9 starts following a Jays loss...Brandon Morrow has at times been inconsistent but he has 10 Quality Starts and has an ERA that has been on the decline lately - plus he is the Jays #1 Strikeout pitcher

The Bullpen has been led by Shawn Camp (38 appearances...2.47 ERA) and Scott Downs (39 appearances...2.80 ERA) with Kevin Gregg as the full-time closer now (18 Saves...36 strikeouts in 31 innings)

*THE BAD*

well the recent 10-17 record through segment #3 certainly was bad...during the 3rd 27 the Jays lost Marcum to the DL...have yet to have Travis Snider return from the DL...no Marc Rzepczynski yet...the return from the DL for Jesse Litsch has been very underwhelming...

The players that are here and are healthy have either hits HR's or made outs...witness these 1st half numbers - Jays are in the bottom half of MLB for Runs Batted In...how do they hit so many HR's but not drive in a lot of runs you ask?!?!  Only 2 teams in all of baseball hit for a worse team batting average then YOUR TORONTO BLUE JAYS, and only 3 MLB teams have fewer hits then the Jays...the Jays steal less bases then anyone too...Cito Gaston's club has BY FAR the fewest amount of Sacrifice's in MLB (Jays are on pace for 12 sacrifice's this year...the next lowest team right now ALREADY has 16)

Where in the world is Travis Snider?!?!  Not he boardgame, the real life reality where stud-of-the-future Snider has a wrist injury with a very unfortunate UNKNOWN eta as to his return

Brian Tallet and Jason Frasor are not having the seasons they had anticipated...both have struggled as Tallet is now out of the starting rotation and Frasor was replaced early as the team's closer...

Fred Lewis leads the team with a .277 Batting Average...no Jays player is north of .300 Batting Average-wise

*THE UGLY*

Well when you look at the batting #'s as a team and how putrid they are it stands to reason that there will be poor individual number's throughout the roster...I want you to read my blog but I will still have to warn you to avert your eyes here - Lyle Overbay .241 average - Bautista .236 - Lind .205 - on-again/off-again third baseman Edwin Encarnacion .195 - Aaron Hill at an unbelievable .189...for most of the season Lind and Hill are in the top 3 in the batting order so their horrible production has been noticeable and of course detrimental

Rogers Centre attendance continues to be ugly...only 3 teams (Oakland, Cleveland, Florida) have lower average home attendance...none of Oak|Cleve|Fla have drawing cards coming to town with fans that travel very well like when the Yankees and Red Sox visit T.O. which makes the Jays average of 19,000+ fans VERY disappointing and ugly

Dustin McGowan continues to experience nothing but pain and setback-after-setback in his attempt to get his once VERY promising Jays career back on track

The 1st half of this season also had the end of the Randy Ruiz era as he was released by T.O. to pursue other opportunities in a different Continent

Our first 3 27 game segments record-wise were as follows - 14-13...17-10...10-17 so we see absolutely no consistency, but we can be pleased with the likes of Romero/Cecil/Marcum who do have the look of the #1,2,3 going forward for the Jays...I look forward to the 2nd half for Brandon Morrow as he has the stuff the be a top-of-the-rotation guy but I would like to see some consistency develop for him...the 2nd half of the season will of course feature the Trading Deadline and we will see what Alex Anthopoulos can potentially get in return for guys like Lyle Overbay, Brain Tallet, Scott Downs, John McDonald and perhaps one of the veteran catchers like John Buck or Jose Molina...will there be a market for Fred Lewis?  Will Dewayne Wise play himself into the role of someone who a contending team may want to have to strengthen their bench? 

As this season enters the 2nd half officially now (unofficially after the July 11-13 All-Star break) I wonder if the #1 question I have had all year will start to get more play which is who will be the Manager of this team next year?!?!  We know from Cito himself that he will not be back for 2011+ and to date I have not heard any outside-hire candidates to run this ship going forward...

We have seen Alex Anthpoulos work his first off-season (successfully) and his first MLB Entry Draft (looks like it was a good one for AA) and in the upcoming 2nd half we will see AA work his first Trade-Deadline deals...I am looking forward to it...looking forward to see what pieces can be added to contribute to the 2011+ Toronto Blue Jays

Send me an email on this entry, or any other entries...always nice to hear from you

craig.ballard@hotmail.com

NBA Free-Agency thoughts

July 1st is moments away at this point...the already historic summer of 2010 is about to begin

  

We took a look 2 blogs ago at NBA free-agents not named James/Wade/Bosh...well today we will look at those 3 and look at different scenarios for them...

For me the easiest place to start is Dwyane Wade...He is the likeliest to stay put given his absolute love affair with South Florida...The Miami Heat currently have an idea on about 5-6 roster spots but have about another 8-10 to fill...they certainly hope D-Wade will be one... then the hope is that the recruiting power of $$$ plus Wade, plus Miami life, plus Pat Riley running the franchise is enough to bring another All-Star in to help Wade...In a perfect world for Miami that person would be Chris Bosh but with the nothing to offer Toronto in return that does seem unlikely...only chance I see there is if Miami is willing to take back Hedo Turkoglu, then at that point perhaps trade talks can begin in earnest with Miami...a more likely option IMO is Amar'e although he may prefer to re-unite with fellow ex-Suns coach Mike D'Antoni and Shooting Guard Joe Johnson in New York...Stoudamire and Wade could develop as a nasty pick-and-role duo for the Heat...Miami will look to add a 3rd as well...maybe a Carlos Boozer...or a David Lee...on the Boozer front as I mentioned in prev blogs I can see him being of-interest to Wade as a Power Forward to go to war with going forward if Amar'e does have a different destination in mind...

Word is that the Heat have a plan in place to re-sing D-Wade plus sign King James AND Chris Bosh!!! In that scenario Pat Riley would likely return as coach and I think they would try to get Shaq back as well to help round-out that roster...but this blog is about the future of James/Wade/Bosh and Wade will likely stay-put

Next up is the all-time leader in a lot of categories for YOUR TORONTO RAPTORS...Chris Bosh is rumoured by one NBA exec as a "done deal" to end up in Chi Town with Bron Bron...I personally have a hard time believing that anything right now could be considered a "done deal" as too much is still yet to come post July 1...if you are a Raptors fan you have several other teams out there with more to provide in return for Bosh then does Chicago...Taj Gibson will surely return to T.O. in that scenario but after that there is not much more to get from the Bulls......the Cavs are very unlikely to do any sign-and-trade with the Bulls for LeBron James as the 2 franchises are such rivals but the Raps would insist on getting assets back for Bosh...Chicago will not part with Luol Deng or Joakim Noah - even to land Bosh...other stories have CB4 willing to consider Houston, New York as well as Chicago and Miami...If you are a Raptors fan and a reader of prev blogs you know that I have always felt that a deal with the LA Lakers is the best option for the Raps...a sign-and-trade of Bosh and Jarrett Jack for Andrew Bynum and likely Lamar Odom seems like a win-win to me...landing the 23 year old 7-foot Bynum seems like a perfect fit to the Raps as he is an instant upgrade on how this team defends at the rim and his best years are still to come...the Lakers have long been enamoured with CB4 but a big part of that was Phil Jackson who is likely to retire

I have always contended that there is not a team out there willing to build around Bosh like Toronto is...and with the Raps CB4 gets to rep an entire country...My hope is Brian Colangelo can strike quickly at a free-agent move to further show Bosh the relevance of staying in T.O. and hope that CB4 sees that the grass may not be greener south of the border...

Last, and we know not least, is King James...again we refer to that NBA exec who has said anonymously that James and Bosh to Chicago is a done deal but we are of course also hearing the Knicks...Nets...Heat...Cavs will all be in play too...heck toss in the Mavs as James is a HUGE Cowboys fan and Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys owner) and Mark Cuban will surely take their shot at making a pitch to King James

For me remaining a Cavalier is the best option for LeBron...he has family and friends living there in his compound...he has a team that has won 60+ games 2 straight years...he has an owner in Dan Gilbert who is likely to spend on what LeBron needs to continue to win at a high-level...he has a chance to live as a hometown legend...

If you are LeBron and you are real about your want\need for Championships then if you sign with a team in the East then Orlando is your likely foe while in the West we know the Lakers are 3-time Western Conference champs...in the East is it likely that with the uncertainty of the futures of Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen plus the sure retirement of Rasheed Wallace that the Celtics will be likely to take a step back this year?...if so then the Cavs are looking like they offer a chance to play in the NBA Finals...work will need to be done of course...Cleveland would need to address the big-man spot(s) to have someone to defend Kevin Garnett and also Dwight Howard in the play-offs - plus surely an upgrade at the Point Guard spot is needed like a Jason Kidd (or how intriguing would Allen Iverson be?!?!)

I mentioned before the unlikelihood of the Cavs and Bulls making a trade together due to their rivalry but I can see why Chi Town is intriguing to LeBron...the idea of winning Titles in that city ala Michael Jordan would likely appeal to LBJ...surely either Bosh or a top-notch Power Forward like Amar`e or Boozer would follow LBJ to Chicago to go with Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Derrick Rose...not bad...no depth to speak of but the Bulls can address that later...another plus for Chicago is new coach Tom Thibodeau - formerly a Doc Rivers assistant with Boston up until a few weeks ago when he took the Bulls top-job...if you like what the Celtics have been doing for the last while on defense then you like Tom Thibodeau...

For me the only thing to mention is that Derrick Rose will have to improve his game if the Bulls land LBJ...there is a Point Guard stat/ranking system in the NBA that takes a look at the amount of times a point guard actually puts his teammates in a good position to score...whether or not the teammate scores does not come into play - just the idea of did the PG put a teammate in position to score...Derrick Rose ranks VERY poorly on this list...only a hand full of the approx 65 PG`s in the league rank worse...if you saw LBJ look like Adrian Peterson vs the physical Celtics D (Peterson is a Running Back with the Minnesota Vikings who is built like a tank just like James but when the physical contact comes he has fumble-itis which is how LBJ looked vs Boston) then you know that he was bounced from the last 2 play-offs as a #1 seed as his teammates could not provide enough easy opportunities for LBJ...everything was a struggle...I don`t know that a non-winner like Bosh plus a scoring-first PG like Rose is the answer to that issue for James...

I don`t even really want to get into this as it will never happen but the best place IMO for LeBron James is LA with the Clippers...roster-wise they have the aforementioned Baron Davis plus Chris Kaman down low with 3 rookies set to debut for LA this year in Al-Farooq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe - plus this will be the rookie year of last years #1 overall pick Blake Griffin (injured all of what would have been his rookie season)who will be a pick-and-roll beast in this league...best pick-and-roll piece to enter the NBA since Amar'e...plus 2nd year Shooting Guard Eric Gordon...the idea in Clipperland is that media mogul David Geffen would buy 51% of the Clippers from long time (and horrible) owner Doanld Sterling...the Sterling era in LA has produced 2 winning records since he bought the team in 1981...YIKES!!!...he has repeatedly refused to even entertain the thought of selling the team but Geffen says he can produce LeBron James plus 1 other max-money free agent to the Clippers IF he is the 51% owner...GOOD LUCK Clippers fans...it makes a ton of sense which is likely why it will not happen (Clippers fans with another reason to hate their situation!)

We should know within 2 weeks from now who is headed where and what pieces from the new team are going back to the old team in sign-and-trades etc etc etc...I do think returning to their respective teams for all 3 of James\Wade\Bosh makes the most sense but the rumours are currently hot-and-heavy that at least 2 of them will have new addresses soon...


send me an email on this or any other previous blog....... craig.ballard@hotmail.com

2010 NBA Free Agent blog

The madness will begin in less then 2 weeks as the toys available for the General Manager of your fav team could create more big-name player movement then we have ever seen......in gamer terms the NBA has their 2010-2011 Franchise Mode setting on Fantasy Draft: YES and they have the Force Trade setting to YES also......for the next 2 months I think we should declare even ground no matter how you currently feel about your GM and your teams going-forward situation.......even ground meaning if you love your situation, or hate it, or anything in between the truth is franchises - plural - will be changed this summer.....and I mean WELL beyond where Bron Bron, D-Wade, and CB4 will end up......this blog is a look at free-agents other then those 3.......


Firstly we have to acknowledge that the craziness could be amped up even further if any of Paul Pierce, Yao Ming, Kenyon Martin, Michael Redd, Peja Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson exercise their Early Termination Option to also become free-agents and join the 2010 summer-o-fun

Secondly we would want to acknowledge the historic significance that the summer of 2010 free-agency has already had on the NBA........for most teams in the Association every trade/free agent/draft pick/D-League roster/office intern decision for the past 2 years has been based on putting those teams in the best possible position they could be in to make aggressive moves at multiple big-name/big-talent assets......


At the Point Guard spot Derek Fisher is a free-agent but he would likely be looking to remain in LA.......the real question at PG is will Allen Iverson run a play-off offense somewhere in the NBA this season?


Joe Johnson and his 20+ ppg is available at the Shooting Guard spot.......Ray Allen is available too and could be interesting at 35 years old - will he look to play beside a LeBron or a Duncan or a Disco Dirk?......could either of these 2 end up in South Beach with D-Wade?!?! Will any team give Tracy McGrady an umpteenth chance? Is it just me or does T-Mac back to the Raptors make sense - at a comfortable price this may be an organization that T-Mac can still contribute to


If your team is in the market for Big-Man help then there is a lot of good news out there......


At Center Brendan Haywood will have many suitors............other veterans like Jamal Magloire and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are also available.......the most interesting name out there for the 7-footers is Shaq Daddy...... if you thought I was out-there on the T-Mac-back-to-T.O. thing then you likely don't approve of my Shaq to the Lakers idea but I think there will be contenders inquiring as to the willingness of Shaq to come in as a legit back-up, or even as a starter with measured minutes



At Power Forward looks like Amar'e and Disco Dirk Nowitzki will headline an excellent list of available 4's......either of those guys are of course franchise-changing, as is Carlos Boozer (I could see Boozer on D-Wade's short list with Bosh to play the #4 spot in Miami).....my fav in the pack is David Lee - for a lot of teams out there (Toronto for one) he is an instant upgrade on rebounding and defensive effort/consistency......Udonis Haslem is selling his wares as are 32 year-old Jermaine O'Neal and former Pacers teammate Al Harrington (the 2 of them pictured together on the right).... as well as Drew Gooden..... and a sleeper here is Josh Powell who could not crack the Lakers rotation consistently due to the talent and depth in LA but was always prepared and contributed when called on............I will also mention a veteran that can fit in and contribute to any situation in Kurt Thomas.........



wow.......is that enough available talent for you?!?! Any franchise has the chance to alter their immediate future and after James/Wade/Bosh we can see that the Plan B, Plan C, Plan D at any position are really good



One more out-of-the-box thought........just moi or wouldn't it seem likely that Disco Dirk is the type of player Brian Colangelo would love?!? Chris Bosh is from Texas and a sign-and-trade of Bosh-for-Nowitzki seems very interesting to me


Sit back and put your faith in your teams Front Office to improve your situation......dust will not be settling for about another 1.5/2 months on the summer-o-fun in the NBA and at that point we will all re-evaluate where our teams are going forward........


send me an email on this blog, or any others at craig.ballard@hotmail.com

MLB look at the future

I am a firm believer that 2011+ will be strong years for YOUR TORONTO BLUE JAYS but this blog is a look at players you may not know currently but if you are a baseball fan you will......everyone will.......household names.........stars for your teams for multiple years going forward......................let's have a look.....

1B - Justin Smoak.....Texas Rangers........this 6'4" was selected #11 by Texas 2 years ago........batting style, and attributes compared to Chipper Jones........Smoak is a switch-hitter which helps earn him the top spot on this list over fellow 23 year old prospect, as well as a potential Jays first baseman in Brett Wallace who currently has 16 HR's in 51 AAA games for Las Vegas

2B - 20 year old product of Burnaby BC Brett Lawrie.......Milwaukee Brewers.......he is highest ranked Canadian position-player ever drafted at #16 overall 2 years ago......converted catcher......Lawrie's fielding percentage suggest that he is slow to take to the defensive change and may one day be moved to a different position but a) it's still very early for his development and b) he showed on Team Canada Junior, Olympic, and World Baseball Classic that he has an upside as a hitter in the Majors.......

3B - Pittsburgh Pirates, New York native Pedro Alvarez (6'3" 225)......the Red Sox tried to get their hands on him when they drafted him as a youngster in 2005, but ultimately he went back into the draft to the benefit of Pittsburgh who took the 23 year old with the #2 overall pick 2 years ago......defensively he could likely play either corner position and his career will surely start at third......his upside is the offense that he projects.......looks like he will hit HR's and be an RBI guy for Pittsburgh for years to come

SS - teammate of Lawrie in Milwaukee Alcides Escobar........when the Doc Halladay trade rumors were on full tilt last year my favourite speculation out there was that Milwaukee may be in the running which I hoped meant Alcides Escobar may one day soon be a Jay......Jays did great in the Halladay trade but of course my hope of landing Escobar was far fetched........the Brew Crew has a stud short stop here for numerous years to come.......Escobar brings an offense that is steadily improving, but a defense that is already MLB ready and the upside for his defensive game is BIG.......other SS like Starlin Castro (6'1" 175 Cubs) and Elvis Andrus (6 feet 200 pounds on the Texas Rangers) have had very positive starts to their careers this season too and will certainly be on your radar going forward also

Outfield - we will look at 3 future STUDS..........the #1 guy to mention may be already on your radar.....if you watched the Jays in Spring Training you would have seen a lot of Jason Heyward (6'5" 240) for the Atlanta Braves.....I am happy for my friends that are Braves fans because this guy is on a different level.......truly a special player in my mind......he hit a HR in his first MLB at bat and it is already clear that his tools will make this guy will be an All-Star for multiple years in Hotlanta.......

Travis Snider (5'11" 245) of the Jays........a left handed hitting corner outfielder who has got off to a so-so start to his MLB career and is currently nursing a wrist injury with no eta on his return, but at 22 years of age I still am a big believer in the future and career of Snider.....the mental aspect oh baseball, especially on the MLB level, is a different animal all-together and something that Snider has struggled with early on......the upside that you can project with this kid and that swing is huge......

The Mike Stanton (6'5" 235) era is about to begin in Florida for the Marlins.......this 20 year old is a power-hitting stud.......he strikes out too much but that can be chalked up to his age and the fact that he is just getting his pro-career started.......his upside for his power game is already evident and he ranks only behind Jason Heyward, and of course STUD Stephen Strasburg, as the top prospect in all of baseball

C - Buster Posey (6'1" 205).........San Francisco Giants drafted Posey #5 overall 2 years ago, and he is considered a catching and first base talent........he will have the chance to catch a pitching staff of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Brian Wilson (plus Madison Bumgarner - 20 years old - who is pitching in the minors now but he will be a STUD as well).......has the tools to be a good catcher and very good hitter........Matt Wieters (6'5" 225) in Baltimore also has the STUD look to him

For the pitchers we know that Stephen Strasburg will get all the press as the hype surrounding this #1 overall pick for the Washington Nationals is through-the-roof (and rightfully so - this guy is a sure-fire STUD with killer stuff to go with consistent mechanics and good mental make-up) but let's look at some others shall we.......

David Price in Tampa Bay is a fav of mine.....the 24 year old from Murfreesboro Tennessee is a front-of-the-rotation type of starter.....lefty with great stuff and great poise........

Other gifted lefties are Madison Bumgarner (Giants) - Brett Anderson and Gio Gonzalez (A's) - Brian Matusz (Baltimore) - Derek Holland (Texas) - Jon Niese (Mets) plus Jays like Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, and Marc Rzepczynski

Kyle Drabek (Jays) - Neftali Perez (whoa what an arm - great stuff - Texas) - Rick Porcello (Tigers) - Tommy Hanson (Braves) all bring it from the right hand side and they all have bright futures as well......

Give me a shout on this blog or any other of the 21 blogs.....

craig.ballard@hotmail.com

Blog #20

...and as such we will be taking a look at some of the great #20's of all time...

#20 Detroit Lions Barry Sanders......lets just run through the stats first to acknowledge the WOW aspect of his on-field accomplishments.......15,000 yards.....1,500+ rushing yards 5 times (NFL record).....made 10 Pro-Bowls in 10 year career.....Heisman Trophy winner....Pro Football Hall Of Fame Inductee.....

Those of us who watched Sanders run the football know he was about more then those impressive numbers.....this guy was as good of a game-breaker as there ever was.....he had 15 career 50+ yard TD runs - most ever.....46 times he rushed for 150+ yards in a game - most ever.....the crazy thing was that Barry - at 5"8" 200 pounds - got caught and dropped behind the line-of-scrimmage more then any other Running Back ever (he lost 952 yards on 336 of those plays) but he was so slippery, athletic, tenacious that he avoided and broke tackles on every other carry.....over a 10 year career of multiple carries his 5.0 yard-per-carry average, and 109 touchdowns, tell the story that Barry could carry the day for your offense......

For me a major memory is the simple give of the football from Sanders to the referee right after scoring a touchdown....no hey look at me......he said he expected to be in the end zone, and he expected to be back so he humbly gave the ball to the ref sans showboat - sans attitude every time

Barry retired earlier then anyone would have expected.....he was on pace to be the all-time rushing leader - 1-2 seasons more was all that was needed.......he ripped up the turf in Detroit for 10 years but the key word there is "Detroit"......the Lions did a lot of losing, actually still do a lot of losing as a franchise.....instead of even asking for a trade his spirit was so broken by the Detroit experience that he walked away from the NFL completely

Jesus Shuttleworth......Mr Ray Allen if you will..........Mr 3-Ball if you will.........Allen is new to # 20 wearing 34 for most of his career, but since he turned his career from explosive scorer on decent teams to major contributor on a high-level NBA team like the Celtics he has rocked #20

Ray Allen was a scorer in his career.......even today he will occasionally take it to the rim but he is primarily a jump-shooter.....still a great jump-shooter......Allen has a career average of 20 points per game......witness these scoring #'s - 9 straight years of avg 20+ points per game for Milwaukee and Seattle.....that includes career highs in year 8 and 9 of that run of 25.1 and 26.4 ppg.....despite his ability to score at will with Seattle he took a step back to fit in the the Big 3 in Boston along with KG and Paul Pierce.....that has already paid off with an NBA Title and, personal stats too - several Regular Season and Playoff records for 3-pointers......this guy has a pure, sweet shot......in the storied history of the Boston Celtics Allen holds the record for consecutive free throws with 72......Shuttleworth also has a career playoff avg of 20 points per game..........

With his sharp-shooting these recent years it is easy to forget that Allen was a killer on the offensive end for many years......he could blow by you on the dribble and/or he always had a jumper......the 2000's have been a Hall-Of-Fame decade for Allen

Other # 20's have included MLB Hall-Of-Fame Inductee Frank Robinson......his importance to baseball is clear.....he was the first African-American to manage a MLB team and one of the all-time great players ever......only player ever to have won MVP in the AL and the NL......heck this guy even won a Triple Crown - unheard of these days as we are experiencing the longest drought ever between Triple Crown's (Triple Crown = lead the league in HR's, RBI's, batting average)

NHL Hall-Of-Fame Inductee Luc Robitaille also wore #20 during his 19 year career......3 stints in LA with the Kings......668 goals.....726 assists.........

#20 Chris Pronger is currently writing his NHL Hall-Of-Fame resume

In MLB legends like Mike Schmidt, Lou Brock and current stud Kevin Youkilis all donned jerseys with #20 on them

send me a message on this, or on any of the other 19 blogs (and counting)..... craig.ballard@hotmail.com

The Toronto Blue Jays

2nd look in our 6-part season-long look at YOUR TORONTO BLUE JAYS.....the regular season is 162 games so we will take an overview of the Jays in 27 game segments......162 divided by 27 = 6 segments for us to look at what is going on with Toronto baseball...... the Good.....the Bad...........and the Ugly
The 2nd 27 was very very good for the Jays......how about a 17-10 record.....that puts the Jays at 31-23 overall.....1/2 game up on surging Boston and 4.5 back of Tampa Bay for 1st in the AL East......Jays gained 2 games on New York in the 2nd 27 and are just 2 behind NY for the AL Wild Card currently.......

*The Good*
Well any way the Jays can get to a 17-10 record in a 27 game segment is great (highlighted by a 8-2 home record during that span)....that is a 102 win pace if you do that all 6 segments! This team is currently on a 93 win pace and as mentioned in the first look at 27 the over/under for wins for the Toronto Blue Jays this year in Vegas is 68!!!! I urged friends to invest in that Over........Over bettors will be cashing in early-to-mid August :)This was a fun 27 because of the W's, but also this 27 gave us the emergence of Jose Bautista (pictured left).....would you believe that Jose has 2 home runs more then any other player in all of MLB......the stat-so-nice-I-write-it-twice......Jose Bautista currently has 2 HR's more then any other player in all of MLB!!!!... I will wait while you open a 2nd Internet page, or grab the closest Toronto Sun or Star to see if that is infact correct..........................................are you back?!?! You checked it yourself didn't you?!?! Well no offense taken as it is VERY remarkable to have Bautista lead the Majors.....If you are amongst the rare Jays fan left in this area you may have watched Jose in Spring Training hit the ball hard on a consistent basis......he was one guy I was really excited about coming out of Spring Training but the first 27 were poor - actually downright bad for Jose.......he is en fuego in the long ball department......The 2nd 27 also gave the Jays their first consistent look at another Alex Anthopoulis find - speedster Fred Lewis (pictured right) .....Fred is currently at .305 batting average but we would have to admit that his .341 on base percentage does leave a bit to be desired, but certainly a positive start for the Jays new lead off man......other Anthopoulis-era players have continued to contribute just as they did in the first 27 like Alex Gonzalez and John Buck who have combined for 20 HR's and 60 RBI's this season.......despite a few 9th inning blow-ups during this 27 Kevin Gregg has 14 saves on the year and only 1 other AL closer has more (Rafael Soriano in Tampa Bay has 15)

Long time Jay Vernon Wells was good through both the 1st, and the 2nd 27.....batting average currently at .307 with 13 HR's and 37 RBI's........and Wells has zero errors, as do fellow outfielders Adam Lind, Travis Snider, Fred Lewis

Toronto has relied on POWER to get it done......witness the numbers - #1 in MLB in HR's, doubles, total bases, slugging percentage and #2 in RBI's.......they have so many more home runs then anyone else in baseball that you could take Wells and Lyle Overbay out and still be #1 overall

The pitching, in particular the starting pitching, was outstanding during this 27.....Quality Start after Quality Start (Quality Start is at least 6 innings with no more then 3 earned runs allowed).......all 5 of Shawn Marcum's wins this year have come in games following a Blue Jays loss - VERY Roy Halladay-like - very top-of-the-rotation worthy......the 2nd 27 also gave us the start to the career of Brett Cecil (pictured right) who is now 5-2 with a 3.81 era and he had some marvelous starts during this 27.....Ricky Romero (pictured left) continues to be the best Jays lefty since David Wells or Jimmy Key.....Romero is 5-2 with a 3.14 era.......Brian Tallet spent most of this 27 on the Disabled List but he is back now


*The Bad*
Brandon Morrow continued his on-again, off-again season showing signs of dominance - especially with strikeouts - but also showing an inability to be consistent in either 27 game segment so far

Bad news for the development of Travis Snider as an injured wrist has him on the disabled list with no known eta for his return

Bad news for Randy Ruiz fans (of which I am one) as he is now in Japan......sayonara Randy Son

The Jays averaged just over 17,000 fans for the 10 home games during this 2nd 27

SS Alex Gonzalez has made the difficult plays look easy but he does have 9 errors already which projects to 27 for the season.....WAY too many for a SS on a team with young pitching that has to lean on the D for help.....

*The Ugly*
The Jays somehow are winning games and putting up gaudy #'s on offense without the contributions of top-of-the-order guys like Aaron Hill (.186 batting average is absolutely YIKES) and Adam Lind (we lamented in the first 27 that Adam was only hitting .255....well that is down to .224....again with the YIKES)......Lyle Overbay is no better with a .218 average (YIKES part III) and has been bumped from #5 in the batting order to #7.........Edwin Encarnacion has been hitting the long ball since his return from the disabled list but he joins this group of ugly with his .211 batting average (YIKES part IV).....Kevin Gregg (pictured left after a successful SAVE with catcher John Buck) has a very solid save total but his meltdown in Seattle, and the most recent Blown Save vs Tampa Bay, were ugly as he blew 3 and 2 run leads thus wasting great starting pitching those games.....

The upcoming 27 qualifies as ugly too.......the Jays are amongst the best in baseball pitching-wise but there are other teams up there as well and they are on the Jays schedule for the next 27......NY Yanks - @ Tampa Bay - @ Colorado - @ San Diego - San Francisco - St Louis - @ Philly......a 4-game series @ lowly Cleveland is the only break in this upcoming 27........the bright side is the starting pitching has been great and we would have to figure it is only a matter of time before Aaron Hill and Adam Lind get their bats going......

Go Jays Gocraig.ballard@hotmail.com