Saturday Bantering: Farrell, Litsch, Villanueva

Good Morning, though it might be afternoon where you are, it is morning here and I slept in nicely this morning. Thought I'd point out a couple of Blue Jay stories.

Bob Elliot gives us a couple of examples of where John Farrell and Alex Anthopoulos didn't always see eye to eye:

Farrell wanted to release backup infielder Omar Vizquel in July, but the GM did not want to cut loose a future Hall of Famer, according to someone familiar with Jays management.

I'm on Farrell's side here, I don't understand the point of Vizquel, he couldn't hit at all and his defense wasn't what it had bit in the past. Having him on a 4 man bench really wasn't that useful, he couldn't pinch-hit, he shouldn't pinch-run. And, it seems, his veteran presence didn't really help us out much, at least as far as I can tell.

But then once he was on the roster, it wouldn't be that easy just to release him, or at least I'm sure that is what Alex would have been thinking.

And the manager was not pleased at the July 31 trade deadline that the Jays added relief help rather than dealing prospects for starting pitching.

I understand Farrell's point here too, but then it is a lot easier to say 'we want a starting pitcher' than it is to actually make a trade for one. A starting pitcher (or two), at the trade deadline, wouldn't have been enough to push the Jays into the playoff, so Alex would have to decide how much he would be willing to give up for one. It wouldn't be worth emptying the minor league system to get someone. He did pick up J.A. Happ.

I don't think a couple of disagreements between a manager and a GM is all that surprising, especially with the season we had and I'm sure it doesn't mean Alex and John couldn't work together. I'd be more worried if they never disagreed. Both of them are smart, they both have opinion, the are going to disagree.

"I don't think it is a damaged relationship, it's not anything ruined beyond repair," said the insider. "Pat Gillick and Cito Gaston didn't see eye-to-eye on every decision. That worked out well."

Find a manager and GM that never disagree and I'll show you someone that is doing both jobs.

Bob goes on to mention that the uncertainty that all this is causing the coaches on the team. Will they have a job next year? Should they be looking elsewhere.

WEEI.com tells us that the Red Sox have asked permission to talk to Farrell. This could mean the Jays and Sox have agreed to what the compensation would be, or maybe it means that the Red Sox would like to do an interview before making a final decision on compensation. Either way, it look like a resolution is getting closer.

Gregor Chisholm talked to Carlos Villanueva. Carlos is going to be a free agent in a few days.

Villanueva didn't take kindly to the apparent skepticism being raised publicly and contract talks never appeared to get off the ground. Not long after, Villanueva went into a tailspin and posted an 8.10 ERA over his final five starts while surrendering 10 home runs in the process.

I can imagine he wouldn't have been happy about Alex coming out publicly with that, but it can't have been a surprise to him. I mean, you, me and everyone else watching the team had the same concerns. And his play after those comments kind of underline Alex's point. I wish him luck in getting the contract that he would like, but I'm not sure I'd want to be writing his name into a starting rotation.

Shi Davidi has a post on Jesse Litsch.

The cold truth for the 27-year-old right-hander is that his arm's calamitous decline since a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his shoulder went terribly wrong back in February may prevent him from ever getting healthy enough to pitch again.

I really feel bad for the guy, who would expect such troubles from a simple injection. I do sort of wonder if he has thought about legal action. That injection may have cost him a fair bit of money. I guess it would be tough to prove that all his problems have been a result of that one moment.

First things first, though, is a crucial appointment in roughly two weeks with Dr. Brian Cole, a cartilage restoration orthopaedic surgeon at Chicago's Rush Hospital. Litsch says the cartilage on the back of his right arm is essentially gone, meaning that every time he throws the ball he feels bone rubbing on bone in his shoulder area above the triceps.

That doesn't sound pleasant. I hope he can get to the point where he can throw again.

I gotta run off to a boy's hockey game, have a good day. Add any good links you see to the thread.