[ryan008]

On top of GM'ing the fictional Toronto Blue Jays in a solo game I was recently invited to join the Ash & Maple Baseball League and GM the Toronto Blue Jays. I was named GM of the Jays just after the First Year Player Draft and guided the Jays for the rest of the 2008 season.

In our first season Toronto went 63-99 and finished second last in the American League East Division, but in all of Major league baseball. Only the Baltimore Orioles finished with a worse record that the Jays. The 2008 Workd Series would feature the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates with the Yankees prevailing in 5 games.

The new AMBL season is upon us and this will chronicle the AMBL's Toronto Blue Jays and their quest to rise out of the basement of the American League East and bring the team back to respectability.

Up Next the 2008 Offseason. What is instore for the Jays?

[ryan008]

Blue Jays - Yankees Complete Swap

GM Ryan Stewart wasted little time in making a move as the new GM of the Toronto Blue Jays sending MR Brian Tallet to the New York Yankees for a pair of relievers in MR Ross Ohlerndorf and MR Chris Britton.

GM Ryan Stewart on the deal "Tallet is a very good pitcher as has been our lefthanded setup man out of the pen and has done a very good job. He is in the last year of his contract and we feel that we have enough depth in our bullpen we could move him to add a couple of other assets to help us in the future. Both Britton and Ohlerndorf have very lively arms and will challenge for a spot in our bullpen next season"

The Newest Toronto Blue Jays


MR Chris Britton
Scouting Report: Britton is a big flamethrowing righty. Standing 6'3" tall he can bring his fastball in the 95-97 MPH range. He struggled a little bit this year with the Yankees bouncing back and fourth between AAA Scranton and the Major leagues. In 32 games with the Yankees the 26 yearold from Hollywood, Florida went 1-3 with 4 saves and a 5.57 ERA.


MR Ross Ohlendorf
Scouting Report: Like Britton Ohlerndorf has a very good arm and his fastball topps out in the 95-97 MPH range. He is also an imposing figure on the mound standing 6'3". In 2008 the 26 yearold from Austin Texas went 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA with the Yankees before being delt to the Jays. The plan is to have both Ohlendorf and Britton in the bullpen come the start of the 2009 season.

[ryan008]

It was a sad day for most Jays fans today as the club announced that they have traded SP Roy Halladay to the Kansas City Royals for SP Luke Hochover and a package of prospects.

GM Ryan Stewart "this was one of the hardest trades I have ever had to make. Roy has been a loyal part of the Jays organization for a long time and we are sad to see him go. On the other hand he deserves a chance to go to a contending team that has a chance to get him that World Series Ring and the Royals are battling with the White Sox for top spot in the American League Central Division. We wish Roy all the best in Kansas City"

The Jays will receive a package of players that includes 25 yearold SP Luke Hochover, and minor leaguers 1B/DH Billy Buttler, MR Ramon Martinez, SP Julio Pimental and one of the top prospects in all of baseball 3B Mike Moustakas. ALong with Halladay the Jays sent AAA Catcher Curtis Thigpen to complete the deal.

The Newest Toronto Blue Jays


SP Luke Hochover
Scouting Report: Hochover is a former first round pick of the Royals and at 25 yearsold is just starting to realize his potential. He has a very lively fastball that can reach 95 MPH and a complement of 5 other pitches to keep hitters guessin. In 2008 Hochover was 8-9 with a 4.60 ERA with 43 Bb and 89 K's with the Royals before the trade to the Jays. Hochover is not expected to take over the hole left by Roy Halladay but GM Ryan Stewart believes that Hochover could end up being a front line starter very soon.


DH/1B Billy Butler
Scouting Report: Butler is a purely offensive talent. He has the ability to hit for power aswell as average. At 23 he has seen time with the Royals already, but struggled with Major League pitching. In AAA he hit .314 with 4 HR and 16 RBI with Omaha before being delt to the Jays. He will likely challenge LF Matt Stairs, DH/LF Adam Lind and 1B Lyle Overbay for playing time as early as next season. The Jays and GM Ryan Stewart think that he could be a 25-30 HR talent and hit over .300.


MR Ramon Martinez
Scouting Report: The 27 yearold Martinez is a middle of the road reliever. I don't think that he has the stuff to be a late innings guy but will do an adequate job of long relief situations. He has a good lively fastball that topps out at 99-94 MPH. He bounced back and fourth between the Royals and AAA Omaha in 2008 and will likely start the 2009 season in AAA simply because of the depth I have in the bullpen but he would likely be one of the first to be called up in the event of an injury.

SP Julio Pimental
Scouting Report: Pimental is a very good looking starting pitcher. At 23 he is close to being Major league ready but still needs some seasoning before he will get his shot. He spent the majority of the season in AA where he went 6-10 with 1 5.19 ERA walking 60 and striking out 73. That is the one area of concern as his BB/K ratio is not that great. He will start the 2009 season in AAA with the Jays top pitching prospect SP Brett Cecil. The two combined give the Jays some pretty good depth in the pitching department.


3B Mike Moustakas
Scouting Report: The 19 yearold Moustakas was the key to this trade. He is one of the top rated prospects in all of baseball. He can do just about anything. He hits for average and power and has an abouve average glove and tremendous arm. In 2008 with the Royals AA team he hit .320 1 HR and 16 RBI. GM Ryan Stewart hopes that he will be the successor to 3B Scott Rolen who still has two seasons left on his contract. He will likely get an invitation to Spring Training with the Jays but will be starting the year in AAA for the Skychiefs.

[ryan008]

December 15th, 2008

With the 2008 Offseason in fullswing the Blue Jays are entering their first offseason with GM Ryan Stewart at the helm. Stewart has already traded Roy Halladay and MR Brian Tallet and their are a host of other Jays who are rumored to be availiable including 1B Lyle Overbay, 3B Scott Rolen, SP Davis Romero and CL B.J. Ryan.

The new GM explains his plans for the future of the Jays "We have a number of very large contracts that could potentialy hand cuff us in the future. We just don't have the pieces to compete right now and the biggest problem is out farm system. It is essentially baren in the Jays minor league system. We have just a two prospects in the top 100 and they are SP Brett Cecil and 3B Mike Moustakas. We are not going to be an organization that goes out ans signs a ton of free agent talent, our plan is to build a sustainiable base from the ground up and to win with a mik of veterans and home grown talent. It is likely going to be a 3-5 year rebuilding program"

[ryan008]

April 1st, 2009

With Major League Traning Camps opening up all around Florida and Arizona this is a good time to recap what was the 2009 Blue Jays offseason.
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The first move that GM Ryan Stewart made was to claim SP Daniel Cabrerra off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. The 27 yearold Cabrerra had an abysmal season with the Orioles in 2008 going 4-13 with a 5.82 ERA. GM Ryan Stewart "We really like Cabrerra's arm and his stuff. I think his 2008 season was simply the result of being on a bad team and we are hoping a change of scenery will do him good. He will likely be the #3 or 4 starter for us depending on how he fares coming out of Spring Training. He is only making $1 million salary this year so this is a low rish/high reward pickup for us if he pans out"


SP Daniel Cabrerra
27 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 92-94 MPH
2008 Stats: 4-13 5.82 ERA (with Baltimore)
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Blue Jays release Veteran Stairs

With the addition of DH/1B Billy Butler last year and the emergence of LF Adam Lind as a candidate for the every day left field job there really wasn't any room on the roster for stairs and the 42 yearold was given his outright release. In 2008 Stairs hit .242 with 17 HR and 42 RBI but just would not get much playing time with a young Jays team that is headed for a rebuilding season.
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Blue Jays - Astros Complete Swap

The Blue Jays and Houston Astros completed a last mineut deal that saw SP Davis Romero and CL B.J. Ryan headed to Houston for SS Miguel Tejada and SP Jared Weaver.

GM Ryan Stewart "This is a really good deal for us as we lose B.J. Ryan's remaining $20 million over the next two seasons. We have to take on Tejada's $13 million this year but he is a free agent after the 2009 season. We also get a good young arm in Weaver who will compete for a spot in our rotation next season. This trade also frees up CL Jeremy Accardo to be the fulltime closer"

The Newest Blue Jays


SP Jared Weaver
26 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 90-92 MPH
2008 Stats: 13-6 3.21 ERA (with Los Angeles Angels)


SS Miguel Tejada
32 Years Old, RHB
2008 Stats: .258 17 HR 66 RBI (with Houston Astros)

[ryan008]

April 3rd, 2008

The Toronto Blue Jays have concluded their Spring Schedule and are packing their bags for their opening series at home against the Detroit Tigers. The Jays will have a number of new faces in the lineup as they lost DH Frank Thomas (retired), SP Roy Halladay (Traded to Kansas City), C Greg Zaun (Free Agency), MR Brian Tallet (Traded to New York), SP Davis Romero (Traded to Houston), LF Matt Stairs (Released) and CL B.J. Ryan (Traded to Houston). The Jays new faces include SP Luke Hochover (Aquired from Kansas Cty), SP Jared Weaver (Aquired from Houston), SP Daniel Cabrerra (Claimed off waivers from Baltimore), 1B/DH Billy Butler (Aquired from Kansas City), MR Chris Britton (Aquired from New York), MR Ross Ohlendorf (Aquired from the Yankees) and C Robinson Diaz (Recalled from AAA).

2009 Toronto Blue Jays

Starting Pitchers


SP Luke Hochover
3-7 4.19 ERA (With Toronto)


SP Dustin McGowan
11-18 5.83 ERA (with Toronto)


SP Jared Weaver
13-6 3.21 ERA (with Los Angeles Angels)


SP Daniel Cabrerra
4-13 5.82 ERA (with Baltimore)


SP Shaun Marcum
10-17 6.47 ERA (with Toronto)

The Bullpen


MR Brandon League
0-1 1 SV 3.86 ERA (with Toronto)


MR Ross Ohlendorf
2-1 4.41 ERA (with Toronto)


MR Chris Britton
1-0 3.45 ERA (with Toronto)


MR Jesse Carlson
1-1 1 SV 4.81 ERA (with Toronto)


MR Scott Downs
3-1 1 SV 3.86 ERA (with Toronto)


MR Casey Janssen
DID NOT PLAY IN 2008 DUR TO INJURY


CL Jeremy Accardo
3-2 4 SV 2.00 ERA (with Toronto)

The Position Players


C Chris Snyder
.197 2 HR 20 RBI (with Toronto)


C Robinson Diaz
.245 1 HR 23 RBI (with AAA Syracuse)


1B Lyle Overbay
.244 22 HR 50 RBI (with Toronto)


2B Aaron Hill
.275 12 HR 55 RBI (with Toronto)


3B/OF Marco Scutaro
.185 2 HR 8 RBI (with Toronto)


INF John McDonald
.234 1 HR 5 RBI (with Toronto)


3B Scott Rolen
.244 19 HR 79 RBI (with Toronto)


SS J.J. Hardy
.243 25 HR 69 RBI (with Toronto)


SS Miguel Tejada
.258 17 HR 66 RBI (with Houston)


LF Buck Coates
.304 13 HR 72 RBI (with AA NEw Hampshire)


CF Vernon Wells
.228 19 HR 63 RBI (with Toronto)


RF Alex Rios
.272 19 HR 76 RBI (with Toronto)


OF/1B/DH Billy Butler
.224 3 HR 9 RBI (with AAA Syracuse)

[ryan008]

October 6th - October 11th

Record: 4-2 Tied for 1st Place in the American League East with Baltimore

Games:

Game #1 - Toronto 8 - Detroit 5

The opening game of the season was not a pretty one for the Tigers SP Rich Harden who lasted just 1.2 innings allowing 6 runs on 5 hits. The Jays got a big swing from RF Alex Rios in the bottom of the first belting a 2 run homerun. Rios and 3B Scott Rolen would pace the Jays offence going 3-4 each with a pair of runs driven in. SP Luke Hochover went 7.1 innings allowing 10 hits and 5 runs with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts for his first victory of the season.

Game #2 - Detroit 6 - Toronto 4

The Tigers starter and former Jay SP Kelvim Escobar was very sharp in his first outing of the season going 7.1 innings allowing just 4 runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and 5 K's. He outduelled one of the newest Jays SP Jared Weaver who was aquired from the Astros in the offseason. Weaver allowed 6 runs on 9 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. He was undone by the long ball allowing homeruns to C Brian McCann, 3B Mark Tehan and CF Greg Goloson. The Jays gos offence from RF Alex Rios who is on fire to start the year going 2-4 with a triple and RBI and SS Miguel Tejhada who went 2-4 with a pair of double and an RBI in the loss.

Game #3 - Toronto 8 - Detroit 0

Game #3 was all SP Duston McGowan who was masterful. He tossed a complete game 2 hitter with just 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. He beat the Tigers SP Kyle Kendrick who lasted just 3.0 innings allowing 6 runs on 6 hits with a walk and a strikeout. Offensively the Jays got long balls from DH Billy Butler and LF Buck Coates. Butler drove in a pair and Coates drove in 3 in the Jays romping of the Tigers.

Game #4 - Toronto 7 - Detroit 6

The Jays would take the opening series of the season at the Rogers Center from the Tigers on the hells of a very strong outing from SP Daniel Cabrerra. Cabrera was aquired off waivers from the Orioles in the offseason and was looking to turn in a much better season than the one he had last year. He started off well in 2009 going 8.0 innings allowing 8 hits and 5 runs with a walk and 4 strikeouts. His only real mistake was to RF Magglio Ordonez who deposited it into the bleachers for a homerun in the first inning. The Jays big swing came from CF Vernon Wells who hammered a 3 run shot, his first of the season. 2B Aaron Hill drove in what would be the go ahead run as CL jeremy Accardo was a little shakey allowing a run in the 9th but would hang on for his first save of the season.

Game #5 - Toronto 15 - Cleveland 3

The Blue Jays bats have been impressive so far in the early going of the 2009 season and they continued that trend in Game #1 in Cleveland. They chassed the Indians starter SP Bronson Arroyo after just 1.1 innings. He allowed 5 runs on 6 hits with a walk and a strikeout. The Jays got homeruns from C Chris Snyder, 1B Billy Butler, DH Lyle Overbay, 3B Scott Rolen and CF Vernon Wells to pace their attack. SP Shaun Marcum went 7.2 innings allowing 10 hits but just 3 runs with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. SS Miguel Tejada, CF Vernon Wells and C Chris Snyder all went 3-5 with multiple runs batted in.


Game #6 - Cleveland 5 - Toronto 1

Well the Jays hghpowered offence was stopped dead in its tracks in game #2 in Cleveland. The Jays could do nothing against SP Kevin Dixon who went 8 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits with 2 BB and 5 K's. Toronto squandered a great outing by SP Luke Hochover who went 8 innings allowing 5 runs (3 Earned) on 4 hits with 4 walks and 7 K's. Cleveland got RBIs from C Victor Martinez, DH Moises Alou and 1B Jason Giambi. Toronto's only run came on an RBI double by DH Billy Butler in the 3rd inning.