As Shi Davidi told us yesterday, the Blue Jays’ managerial search continues to crawl along, with a decision not likely to be made until after this week’s GM meetings.
Previous reports have suggested the Blue Jays would prefer someone with big-league experience. Last night, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reported Art Howe, he of Moneyball fame and a 1,129–1,137 career managerial record, wants the Blue Jays job.
He’s an intriguing name for a couple of reasons. One, because he’s an experienced manager with three playoff appearances on his resume and two, because one has to wonder why he’s remained out of work since 2008 when he served as Ron Washington’s bench coach in Texas.
“I want to manage again, the best thing I have going for me is my experience — seven years in the NL, seven in the AL,” Howe, 65, told Elliott. “Toronto has always been an interesting team, they have some nice talent and were very competitive until they fell off with those injuries to their position players.
“The New York Yankees are a little long in the tooth, with 13 free agents. Toronto plays in the toughest division in baseball, but they are only a few pieces away from doing something.”
Howe was available two years ago when the Blue Jays hired John Farrell and he was not considered a serious candidate back then.
Could things be different this time? It’s possible, but unlikely.
Howe didn’t tell Elliott whether or not he’s heard from the Jays, but you get the sense that if they were considering him he would have received a phone call by now.
Over in Colorado, Matt Williams interviewed with the Rockies on Monday and tells Patrick Saunders, “I think it went very well.”
In Washington, the Nationals and skipper Davey Johnson are still working on a deal for him to manage in 2013. The 70-year-old Johnson is under contract with the Nats for 2013 and ’14, but as an advisor.
FREE AGENT, TRADE BUZZ
Grantland’s Jonah Keri joined Prime Time Sports on Monday where he suggested Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson might be good free agent fits for the Blue Jays.
Could the Mets trade knuckleballing Cy Young candidate R.A. Dickey this winter? Quite possibly, major league executives tell Andy Martino.
Last week the Mets exercised the 36-year-old Dickey’s $5 million option for 2013.
You think the Blue Jays have holes to fill? Alex Speier runs down the Red Sox lengthy off-season shopping list. It includes a first baseman, shortstop, two corner outfielders and a fifth starter.
Jon Heyman along with an “unnamed expert source on the player side,” whom he swears is not named Scott Boras, predict the dollar amounts for 42 free agents. One contract prediction in particular that raised my eyebrow was Edwin Jackson’s.
Expert: $37 million, three years. Heyman: $36 million, three years.
RICKY ROMERO WANTS YOU TO KNOW HE’S HEALING NICELY
The Blue Jays lefthander recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow and yesterday he took to Twitter to provide an update:
It will be 3 weeks tomrw since my surgery & elbow is coming along good. Can hardly see the scars twitter.com/RickyRo24/stat… — Ricky Romero (@RickyRo24) November 6, 2012
It will be 3 weeks tomrw since my surgery & elbow is coming along good. Can hardly see the scars twitter.com/RickyRo24/stat…
— Ricky Romero (@RickyRo24) November 6, 2012
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED TO KNOW…
Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer thinks there’s a chance “things move a little faster” this winter when it comes to trades and free agent signings.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who usually moves quickly in the off-season, may take things a bit slower this year. He also tells Jim Salisbury that first baseman Ryan Howard has “lost a significant amount of weight” in his off-season conditioning.
Amaro and the Phillies appear to be in some legal hot water as a former coach is suing them for defamation.
The Cincinnati Reds would love to move Aroldis Chapman into the rotation, but GM Walt Jocketty says it depends on whether they can find a suitable replacement as the team’s closer.
In more legal news, Jeff Passan of Yahoo writes the Major League Baseball Players Association has cleared ACES sports agency of any wrongdoing in the Melky Cabrera web site scandal.
Hall of Fame voters will begin receiving their ballots next month with results announced in January. You may have heard this year’s class will include the likes of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza.
In the L.A. Times, Bill Shaikin writes: “Rusty Hardin, the lead counsel for Clemens, said he would consider sending voters a briefing book on the trial.”
In June, a federal jury cleared Clemens of charges that he lied to Congress when he testified that he never used performance-enhancing drugs.
“I would think that if a baseball writer really wanted conscientiously to cast a vote on one of the greatest pitchers of all time, go look at the evidence,” Hardin said. “See, after you read it, why the jury did it. It wasn’t a crazy jury.”
AND FINALLY:
Extra rare indeed:
Matt Cain gave his Giants teammates embroidered bottles of Crown Royal Extra Rare ($130 each) twitter.com/darrenrovell/s… — darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 6, 2012
Matt Cain gave his Giants teammates embroidered bottles of Crown Royal Extra Rare ($130 each) twitter.com/darrenrovell/s…
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 6, 2012
