Damaso Garcia turns 55 today. He played second base for the Jays from 1980 to 1986 he stole 194 bases for us and is number 28 on our Top 50 Jay's list. His health hasn't been good since his retirement. He had a brain tumor right after he left baseball and then had a stroke in 2001. Last we heard he wasn't doing well but he has beaten the odds before. I hope he has a good birthday.
Here's a couple of links and comments to kill time before the Soup Bowl.
John Sickels at Minor League Ball has a nice profile of Scrabble. The only thing I kind of take issue with is this:
Rzep doesn't have the pure stuff to project as an ace, but if he can sharpen his command a bit more, I think he can be a good number four starter for a long time to come. His debut was impressive and I think he's still an underrated pitcher who will have a better career than many guys who get more publicity.
I always think it is silly to say prospect X can only be a 3rd starter or whatever. If you watched the Jays in 2000 you would never guess that Roy Halladay would have become, well Roy Halladay. Who thought Cliff Lee would be an ace in 2004 when he had a 5.43 ERA or 2007 when he had a 6.29 ERA. Players can surprise you.
Jordan Bastian has a nice profile up on Travis Snider.
I sent a note to Nico from Athletics Nation asking for a scouting report on our new pitcher, Dana Eveland. Here is what he sent me:He sucks. Poor command, no poise. Gets a lot of ground balls, though, has good movement on his fastball and a David Wells like curve. Yet still sucks.
Enjoy Dana!
Yeah a glowing review. I suppose these reports about players that had a bad season where they played last aren't all that useful.
And MLB Trade Rumors had this tidbit:
One reason the Cubs signed Kevin Millar was to loosen up the clubhouse after the Milton Bradley fiasco last season.
Yeah, he sure kept things upbeat at the end of last season for us.
Enjoy the game.