Oh, Canada!

[Guest]

New year, new hopes for Jays

Winds of change swirling at Rogers Centre, Gibbons and Riccardi dismissed

TORONTO, On.-- The 2007 season has already seen its fair share of shakeups for the Blue Jays. Despite a 2006 campaign that saw the Jays climb to second place in the AL East, owner Paul Godfrey sold the team to businessman and former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. The Right Honourable Martin, the former CEO of CSL, promptly dismissed General Manager J.P. Riccardi and then appointed former MLB rules czar Bob Watson as new GM. Watson has not made any sweeping acquisitions as of yet, but named former Motreal Expo Larry Walker as the new Jays skipper.

Born in British Columbia, Walker was excited at the opportunity to manage in Toronto. "It's a great thrill to come to Toronto. Playing for the Expos was a dream come true, and now being able to manage for the Blue Jays is almost surreal. We're going to do our best to bring a championship back up north where it belongs."

Joining the rotation this year is left hander Victor Zambrano. Coming over from the Mets, Zambrano posted a 1-2 record with an ERA of 6.75 in an injury shorted year. The rotation will also include staff ace Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Gustavo Chacin, and Josh Towers.

This year's primary relief corps will feature three righties and three lefties. Veteran Scott Downs and journeyman sidewinder Mike Venafro will comprise the southpaw section of the pen alongside closer B.J. Ryan. Righties Jeremy Accardo, Jason Frasor, and fireballer Brandon League will also anchor the staff.

One major move that Watson DID make as newly christened GM was signing free agent Frank Thomas. The first baseman turned DH had a breakout 2006 year, showing that he still has a few years left in him. Thomas will be penciled in for regular designated hitting duties while Lyle Overbay mans first.

There are still many questions to be answered, however. Will new manager Larry Walker be able to lead his team to an above-.500 season? Will Frank Thomas's body hold out for another year? Will the pitching staff stay healthy? All these questions will be answered in the coming summer, but one thing is for sure: Oh Canada! What a year we're in for!

Andy Bronson is a beat writer for the Toronto Star and MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Oh, Canada! A Toronto Blue Jays Dynasty

Difficulty: PRO

Fielding: Manual

Rosters: UR 8.3 (with slight modifications)

Sim Type: Full play. Analysis of every game, no sims or mulligans

[Dasda]

I hope u fire JP.

[Guest]

I hope u fire JP.

Already done. Fired JP and hired Bob Watson as GM.

[apridham]

I'll be watching this one.... Please do not give up on it....

[fred13]

I love this dynasty already. Paul Martin owning the Jays... can someone say sponsorship scandal... :)

[Guest]

I love this dynasty already. Paul Martin owning the Jays... can someone say sponsorship scandal...

OOC: Yeah, I was trying to think of who could take over the Jays, and since I'm a New Yorker who lives on the other side of Lake Ontario, I had to do a little Wikipedia research. Since I don't know any Canadian businessmen, I figured it'd be really juicy if a former PM bought the team. I found Paul Martin and read up on his bio, and I thought to myself, "PERFECT!" I needed a good excuse to fire Riccardi and Gibbons, so I just figured I'd revamp the whole front office. Keep an eye out for a Larry Walker screenshot or two.

[Guest]

Q&A with Larry Walker

New Jays manager talks about his team

TORONTO, On.-- Despite a busy spring schedule that has seen exhibition games held at the Rogers Centre as well as in Dunedin, Jays skipper Larry Walker took the time to sit down with me and talk about the upcoming season.

Walker looks on from the bench during an exhibition game at Rogers Centre.

Q: With the season underway, some fans may not be familiar with your choices for coaches. Who will be your field staff for the 2007 season?

A: Well, I'll have David Cone coming in as my bench coach, Chris Chambliss will be the hitting coach, and Dave Stewart will take over as pitching coach. Davey Lopes will be our first base coach and work with the infielders, while Brian Butterfield will return as third base coach and work with the outfielders. Gil Patterson will work as the bullpen coach.

Arguing a call with home plate umpire Bruce Froehmming.

Q: With a staff that is comprised of these veteran managers, how do you think they'll handle a primarily younger team?

A: Well, Davey has had some experience working with younger players, so we'll be okay there. Also, with veterans like Frank (Thomas), Troy Glaus, and Roy Halladay, we should be okay.

Q: So with all that being said, how do you think your Jays will finish?

A: I don't really like to get into all that prediction stuff. Let's let our play do the talking, and if we perform well enough, we should be at the top of this league, fighting in October with the best of them.

Walker walking out to remove Halladay after 6.2 innings.

A reminder, Jay Faithful, the mailbag is waiting for letters, and I'm sure that there's plenty to ask with the winds of change blowing here up north. Send in your questions for the mailbag segment, which will be appearing tomorrow!

Andy Bronson is a beat writer for the Toronto Star and MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[apridham]

Question for the mailbag: How long will your leash be with Josh Towers if he continues to struggle this year? Also, will we be seeing Adam Lind before September?

[Guest]

Hello fans, and welcome to the first edition fo Jays Insider, your informational source for all things Jays. In this week's issue, we spotlight General Manager Bob Watson and Manager Larry Walker. Be sure to keep an eye out next week, as we spotlight ace Roy Halladay and backup catcher Sal Fasano.

In AAA news, it's the Syracuse Chiefs once more! After a ten year stint of SkyChiefs baseball, the original Chiefs name is back. Syracuse will also be updating its uniforms to more closely match those of the Blue Jays.

Also, Alliance Bank Stadium, home of the Chiefs, will be receiving a new grass surface for the 2008 season. The artificial surface will be completely removed and a natural grass playing surface will be installed. The renovation will start in the late fall, with the field ready for game use by Opening Day 2008.

Remember, fans! The Blue Jays home opener will be held on April 9th against the Kansas City Royals. Tickets are on sale now at the Rogers Centre box office, as well as online at Bluejays.com. Be sure to come out and support your Jays!

That's all for this week's preseason edition of Jays Insider. Remember to root, root, root for the Blue Jays, even if they're not the home team!

[apridham]

Nice presentation..... I really like the Jays insider....

[fred13]

nice work, but practice on your cropping. The Jays logos at the top of the spotlight boards could use some work.

[Guest]

[align=center][/align]

Mail Call: Final Spring Questions

Blue Jays reporter Andy Bronson fields your questions

Hey fans. My two-month vacation to Dunedin was all I could ask for and more, but when I arrived back up north to my office, I'm happy to say that my inbox was flooded with mail. Too bad most of this was about refinancing my mortgage, but I did get a few Blue Jay-related questions. So, without further adieu, welcome to Mail Call!

With new ownership coming in, do you think that they'll change the name of the ballfield back to SkyDome rather than going with corporate sponsorship?

--Matt B., Akron, Ohio

It would be highly unlikely for the name to change back to SkyDome. Though in my opinion, SkyDome sounds a lot better than Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays and Rogers Communications, Inc. signed a sponsorship deal for naming rights to the field, so until that deal runs out, it looks like it'll stay the same.

ROYCE CLAYTON????? Why Royce Clayton at shortstop???

--Jerry M., Buffalo, NY

When you look at the back of a position player's baseball card, all you'll see is his offensive stats, and Clayton's .252, 2 HR, 50 RBI mark with the Nats and Reds last season certainly isn't starter numbers, but what you don't see is the fielding stats. Known as a slick defender, Clayton brings a steady glove and solid arm to shortstop, something that Russ Adams hadn't done for the Jays last year.

Will we be seeing Adam Lind at any time before September?

Alex P., Alberton, PEI

There's a very good chance that you'll see Adam Lind with the Jays before September. Despite the fact that he was sent down to Syracuse after a dismal spring where he only hit .237, Lind is the outfielder-on-call for the Blue Jays, so if one of the starting outfielders goes down, it'll be Lind waiting in the ranks to fill his shoes.

Josh Towers had an absolutely miserable year last year, yet Walker is still keeping him in the rotation. What's up with that? How long will it take before Larry pulls the plug?

Harrison W., Ottawa, Ont.

You can expect Towers to have an extremely short leash this year. After last years' 2-10 debacle, the only redemption he's had is a slightly-above-par spring. However, you can bet that he'll be sent down to the minors or released at the first sign of a repeat performance. With Casey Jannsen, Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan, and Ty Taubenheim waiting in AAA, there's no need to wait for good pitching from one player.

Andy Bronson is a beat writer for the Toronto Star and MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Timp]

Lookin good!

[GEOLINK]

hey how did you change the manager?

[Guest]

hey how did you change the manager?

OOC: It was a two step process. First I used MVPEdit to rename the coach from "John Gibbons" to "Larry Walker". You can find this when you click the "Team" button on the bar there. A window will pop up with three tabs. Click the manager tab, and there you go. Also, since the number 33 was available, I changed the number in MVPedit as well. Also in MVPedit, you'll see an option that says Face and it'll have number 496 for the Blue Jays. Don't change this. Instead, I did a search in the downloads for a Larry Walker cyberface. I downloaded it, changed the face numbers from c004 to c496 and then uploaded them to the game using Kraw's Installer Thingy. That overwrites the face, and now a picture of Larry Walker appears as the Blue Jays skipper instead of John Gibbons.

[Guest]

In an interesting effort to boost team unity, coach Larry Walker has told his team that there will be a new dress code for Jays players. Out are the baggy pants that you can loop shoelaces through. The 2007 Blue Jays will be wearing their pants up to their knees with high socks from the knee to the cleats.

Jays DH Frank Thomas displays the new high sock look while taking a swing during a Toronto/Syracuse hitting contest

Walker said of the decree, "I'm not sure how the guys are going to react to this one, but though it's a small step, it's still one that will make us look a little more like a team. The players I've talked to are in full support of it. I mean, it's not like we're the Yankees and forcing everyone to cut their hair and shave their beards."

Team general manager Bob Watson said that he was in full support of the measure.

While some might suggest that individuality may be getting stripped away in forcing players to wear high socks, the team strongly disagrees with that sentiment and feels that the high socks will increase team chemistry rather than hinder it.

[Guest]

This is my first lineup screen so please go easy on me.

[Pokeys]

Tigers are always trouble! give em hell.

[RmembrZito75]

Looks pretty good. Just fix the logos of the teams. Nonetheless, great job!

[Guest]

Through 3 1/2 innings, Tigers ace Justin Verlander has yet to allow a hit, with Roy Halladay only giving up two hits in a classic Opening Day pitchers duel.

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Postgame analysis coming soon.