Two guys that each finished the season very nicely.
Randy Ruiz turns 32 today. In the 33 games he got called into after being called up in August Randy hit .313/.385/.635 with 10 homers and 17 RBI. It would have been nice if Cito would have got him into more games so we could have some idea if he could have continued hitting that well with enough at bats to be a worthwhile sample. But we did see enough of him to know that he could fill the Kevin Millar role better than Kevin Millar did. At 32 he is clearly past the prospect stage of life but he might be able to do a nice job as a part timer or platoon partner for Lyle Overbay. You can't help but cheer for someone that has spent 11 seasons in the minors with just a handful major league at bats.
Jose Bautista turns 29 today. He was having a pretty forgetable season until September 1st, then hit .257/.339/.606 with 10 homers the rest of the way. Since he isn't under contract for next season, Alex Anthoupolos' job is to figure if the last month of the season is the real Jose or if the 5 preceeding months is a more accurate view of his talent level. My worry is that, if he is re-signed, Cito will give him the full time job in RF next year.
Happy birthday to them both.