Tuesday Bantering: links

Sorry, been a busy day here, and it's not about to get less busy, so here's a open thread to discuss anything you'd like to discuss and here are some links to help start a discussion:

Jays' Sergio Santos in denial | Blue Jays | Sports | Toronto Sun
Is what’s going on now worrisome? "Not one bit. Confidence is something I’ve had since I was little and I’m not going to lose it now."

Baseball Prospectus | Baseball Therapy: Why Are We Playing Hunger Games with Minor Leaguers?

hat’s the romanticized notion. That players accept such poor living conditions because it’s part of "the hunger" (sometimes literally?) for the game. Teams accept these conditions for their players because, well, it’s cheap. Teams do hand out large bonuses to certain players, usually the high draftees and big-ticket international signings. Those are the guys the team brass believe will eventually make an impact on the MLB roster. Because of those bonuses, those guys have a cash reserve for supplementing that meager salary, and the rest of the team ... they’re really just there to fill out numbers, aren’t they? Oh sure, if one develops into something nice, then that’s well and good, but teams seem to be of the opinion that they shouldn’t bother wasting resources on players who probably aren’t going to make any sort of difference.

Blue Jay Steve Delabar hunts for control in minors: Feschuk | Toronto Star
Delabar, for his part, said he doesn’t like to spend much time thinking about the contrast between where he was a year ago and where he resides today. Still, it isn’t easy keeping self doubt at bay. ("You start to think, ‘Was it just luck last year?’ ") And as for self-loathing, the Internet is filled with voices who are happy to inform Delabar that he’ll never again amount to a valuable major-league piece. "You can’t let the game beat you up. There’s so much negativity. There’s guys saying, ‘He can’t do it anymore. He was a one-time deal,’ " he said. "Not too many people go, ‘He’ll get ’em tomorrow.’ . . . But everybody’s thoughts and actions and words — they really don’t mean much to me."

MLBPA head criticizes Jays' salary deferral plan - Sportsnet.ca (Shi Davidi) I figured the Union wouldn't be happy with the Jays plan to borrow from their players.
"It is not the players’ responsibility to sign a player or bring a player on board, I’ll start there," Clark said Tuesday when asked about the matter during a meeting with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. "The position we’ve always taken related to players deferring dollars is making sure that the value of that adjustment is of a positive value to the player or players in that instance.

Selig: Montreal 'excellent' candidate for team - Sportsnet.ca (Shi Davidi)
Bud Selig described Montreal as an "excellent" candidate to one day host a big-league franchise again, and praised the city’s fans for their strong showing during March’s two-game exhibition series at Olympic Stadium.

The Wait May Be Over, Max Pentecost Coming Soon? | Vancouver Sun (Charlie Caskey)
Pentecost is by no means major league ready.  Listening to Chris King on the latest Around the Nest Podcast he was absolute in his assessment, saying there is "definitely work to be done on both his footwork and his release on throws.   There’s nothing that bad though, he’ll be serviceable behind the plate.

Agent calls foul on Astros, MLB in negotiations with No. 1 overall pick | FOX Sports on MSN
"If every player was contingent on another player, we would have no draft, we would have no draft pool, we would have no signings," Close said. "We’d never be able to reach agreements. They’d either all be reached at the same time, or none of them would ever be reached."

Morneau's return the heart of Home Run Derby - Sportsnet.ca
At one point the videoboard showed a close-up of the Colorado Rockies first baseman from New Westminster, B.C., as he was cheered, and he raised his cap, pointed it to the stands and then to his heart. It was a moment that meant something.