Stealthy Saturday Dec 1, 2012 Links

BLUE JAYS LINKS

Blue Jays: Alex Anthopoulos the ninja of baseball GMs - thestar.com
AA doesn't like the Ninja nickname.

“I don’t like to draw attention to myself at all,” he says, adding he tries to ignore both the tributes and the insults. “I understand when you don’t do things well your nickname will be ‘moron’ or ‘idiot.’

He also said that when he was assistant GM under J.P. Ricciardi he saw multiple deals go bad when word leaked out. Anthopoulos refuses to specify the deals, but the most obvious example is the reported trade the Jays had with the San Francisco Giants in 2007 to exchange Alex Rios for Tim Lincecum.

A rotation of Doc, AJ, the Freak (or Matt Cain), Marcum and McGowan. The best freaking rotation in the AL East. Of course it is assuming that potential deal was real. Sigh... what might have been, eh?

Winter meetings allow rest of AL East chance to play catch-up with Jays - The Globe and Mail
Blair's look at AA.

Toronto Blue Jays GM says ousted Bruce Walton not to blame for pitching woes | MLB | Sports | National Post
After the Toronto Blue Jays staggered through an epidemic of pitching injuries in 2012, general manager Alex Anthopoulos promised a thorough off-season review

Blue Jays’ manager John Gibbons saddened to part ways with old friends | MLB | Sports | National Post
One got away. The other was sent packing. Both departures made a personal impact on John Gibbons.

Toronto Blue Jays promote Chad Mottola, Pete Walker in coaching shuffle | MLB | Sports | National Post
Chad Mottola is in. But Dwayne Murphy is not exactly out

Toronto Blue Jays-Miami Marlins trade nearly collapsed due to backup catchers | MLB | Sports | National Post
Lott looks at the deal in a bit more detail. Mathis Trade, indeed.

Toronto Blue Jays’ pitcher Mark Buehrle wants Ontario to overturn pit-bull ban | MLB | Sports | National Post
When he’s on the mound, Mark Buehrle does not throw hard. In the clubhouse, he’s known as quiet even-tempered veteran

MLB NEWS LINKS

Survey shows Bonds, Clemens, Sosa likely to fall short in Hall vote - The Globe and Mail
With steroid scandals still very much on the minds of longtime members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as they cast their ballots, the trio failed to muster even 50 per cent support among the 112 voters contacted by the AP — nearly one-fifth of those eligible to choose.

Former baseball union head Marvin Miller dead at 95 - The Globe and Mail
Labour leader created free agency for baseball players and revolutionized professional sports with multimillion dollar contracts

Angels Acquire Tommy Hanson For Jordan Walden: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Hey look it's a non Blue Jays trade.

National League Non-Tenders: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Possible FA pickups from NL Teams?

American League Non-Tenders: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Possible FA pickups from AL Teams?