Last well we mentioned the DVD release of the documentary movie Boys of Summer. The movie is the story of Robert Cochrane and his father, Dan, going on a road trip to each of the MLB ballparks. Robert's father has Parkinson's disease and all profits from the movie are going to the Michael Fox Foundation which is raising money to find a cure for Parkinson's. If you have ever known anyone with this, you know it is a worthy cause. The movie has received some excellent reviews. 

I had intended to call Robert, this past week, to ask him some questions about the movie but something came up and we, here at the site, seemed to lose focus on anything else. For the life of me I can't remember what it was but it seemed really important at the time. So with time running short before I leave for a little vacation in the sun, I emailed Robert a handful of questions yesterday and he was nice enough to respond. 

First, how is your dad?

Dad, as of today, is doing well. Parkinson's is a very up-and-down disease, and he certainly has his better and worse moments, days and even weeks. From what I can tell, as a man diagnosed in July of 2001 and who is 65 years old, he seems to be ahead of the curve (in other words, he can still drive --which obviously means a lot to him-- and he can still play golf -- which, less obviously, means a lot to him). I believe a lot of his health has to do with his willing attitude (he doesn't just take the pills given to him, he explores other treatments, even "experimental" ones, on his own), his work/play ethic (he plays golf a few times a week, works out at a gym and does yoga) and positive attitude.

So why did you take on this trip?

My dad first presented the idea of going to see all the ballparks together back in 1990. I was in college at San Diego State at the time. As a sports fiend (I studied Journalism in college and had an idea of being an ESPN anchor back then), I thought it was a great idea. We went to seven parks over two years (one brief trip where we hit Tiger, Old Milwaukee, Comiskey and Wrigley and another where we hit the Vet, Yankee and Fenway). After that, though, life got busy. I graduated. Dad retired, but was more active than ever and we swore we'd get back to it. Flash forward to his diagnosis (2001). That got us thinking. Flash Forward to 2004 and me re-watching "Field of Dreams". I unexpectedly bawled my eyes out (in context) and the idea came to me then.

You did an amazing amount of driving, what was the longest city to city drive?

Longest single day drive was Oakland to Seattle (overnight, actually).

Which was your favorite park?

We both agreed on Fenway. It's just classic.

Best food?

We didn't really eat a lot of ballpark food. We talked about doing that kind of comparison, but our schedules were so strange and we were on quite a limited budget. For instance, Clif Bar donated energy bars to us and that pretty much was our breakfast every day. We tried to get lunch and dinner donated everywhere we went and did pretty well with that.

Best beer?

We both like beer (though I don't think my dad drinks anymore in an effort to keep his remaining brain cells doing all they can!) but, again, the budget didn't really allow for many suds.

Anything nice to say about Rogers Center and/or Toronto?

We were fortunate enough to have some very good friends who live in Toronto make some room for us at their house. They took us out on their boat (can't remember the lake's name...very pretty). Rogers (still the Sky Dome in 2004?) was cool, though neither Dad nor I like that turf much. Watching the dome open was nice. The CN tower is awesome as a backdrop. The Jays were very kind to let us down on the field before the game to get a closer look. We got to play a game of catch in foul territory -- a great experience.

Anything else you'd like to say about your movie?

I hope people will give it a look. It's father and son, baseball and road tripping. It's realizing a dream. It's the passing of the proverbial torch. It's funny in many places, largely because my dad has a great sense of humor. It's not at all a downer. It's hopeful and inspirational. 100% of the proceeds from this sale of the film are going to the Michael J Fox Foundation.

Please recognize it for what it is: the lowest of low budget productions ("no-budget" as the trendy indies like to say when the budgets are this small). It's just basically my dad and I running around with a camera for the most part. That being said, I am a professional filmmaker (have a few other credits at imdb.com and teach at the local Art Institute), so I don't mean to say it lacks artistic value. Just remember it's a doc done on the ultra cheap so please don't compare the look or tech aspects of it to anything you've seen outside of a smaller film fest (where we did have some success). For reference sake, as if you didn't know, the Toronto Film Fest is definitely NOT small...).

Me again: the film sounds great fun, I'm going to order the DVD after we get back from our trip. I've often thought about trying to make a trip like that but life/kids and all would make it impossible. And taking my dad? Well, he isn't a big baseball fan and by about day 5 the trip would end in a fiery accident. Not that I don't love my father, but him, me, a car and multiple hotel rooms would be pushing the limits of that love. I think I'll be happy to see most of the ballparks, one or two at a time over a lifetime. 

A better week for most, expect for me. I was the loser this time with only 7 of 16 right. This week's winner is Jlahey, after a couple of weeks of coming in last, he got 12 of 16. Congratulations, you should have had money on it this week.

I'm afraid this will be the last week for the pool this season. We are leaving for a couple of weeks of warmth on Sunday. Hugo will keep the site hopping and I've got a couple of things scheduled to come up while I'm gone, so you won't miss me (like you would anyway). As always if there is something you want to talk about, you can use the fanposts and fanshots. 

I'm glad the Jays thought of me and got the Halladay trade done before I left. Very considerate of them.

More photos » by FRANK GUNN - AP

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos makes his first big trade(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn )

Browse more photos »

Baseball Prospectus has their opinion of the big trade up on their site. A couple of bits I thought I'd steal:

As good as the Mariners did, though, the big winners here were the Blue Jays. Behind the eight-ball with a pitcher they could not sign and could not trade without his permission, which likely meant a value-killing contract commitment, they were able to bring in three prospects who could all be part of winning teams in the middle of the decade. What Alex Anthopolous brought back dwarfs what the Twins got for Santana two years ago. It’s too easy to say that Drabek could grow into a Halladay replacement, but he has that kind of ability. Remember that the Blue Jays have shown a facility for turning lesser pitchers into league-average starters. Drabek has more talent than any pitcher in their system. D’Arnaud is a polished hitter with a strong enough arm to remain behind the plate, and while he doesn’t have the star potential Drabek has, he projects as an inexpensive, good player at a key position.

No pressure there on the poor kid. Could be a Halladay replacement. But I agree that Anthopoulos got far more that the Twins got for Sanatana. And under a bigger microscope. 

Anthoplolous traded the third prospect, Taylor, to the A’s for Brett Wallace. This is an interesting challenge trade, dealing the more complete player for the player with one dominant skill. The Jays’ advantage in acquiring Wallace is that they will be able to develop him as a first baseman if need be, as they have only Lyle Overbay in his way, and that only for a year. Wallace isn’t as bad a third baseman as he looks to be on first glance, lacking lateral range but having acceptable hands and moving fairly well back and forth. An eventual move off of third has long been assumed inevitable, and if that is necessary, the Jays can fade that. Wallace joins Travis Snider and Adam Lind for what could end up as a championship-caliber middle of the lineup. For the A’s part, they get the player with the broader skill set who may fit their situation a bit better; the A’s need outfielders who can cover ground, and Taylor is a good right fielder who could make their team out of spring training.

This is the real interesting part of the trade to me. Michael Taylor is a good prospect and I was pretty happy when we thought the Jays were going to get. He would fill in the gaping hole in RF and if he didn't turn out to be great, Alex could have just said 'well we all thought he would be good'. But trading him like this shows guts. For the rest of each of their careers we'll be comparing the two of them. If Wallace turns into the better player, Alex is a genus. If Taylor turns out to be the better player, he'll never hear the end of it. 

You do have to like that he has the guts to do it. Right or wrong a GM has to make the moves he believes in. If he thinks Wallace will be the better player, he can't be afraid of the reaction if he is wrong. If you worry about what happens if you are wrong, you won't do anything. 

I hope it works out but more than that, I'm happy Alex has shown the guts needed to be a GM. 

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese, File)

Browse more photos »

Since just before the All-Star break, when the cat was let out of he bag that Roy Halladay was going to be traded I figured sooner or later I'd be writing a post saying good bye to Doc. For the last couple of days we've been focusing on what we are getting back  for Roy, which is a lot more fun than thinking about him going away. But, sooner or later we are going to have to say bye. Just recently I wrote a long piece about Halladay's career with the Jays, in the Top 50 Jays series, so we don't have to cover that ground again. 

When I was a kid and first got interested in baseball, my favorite team was the Montreal Expos and my favorite player was Gary Carter. Carter, for a number of seasons was the best catcher in baseball. One of the first things I remember buying for myself when I had a little money was a Expos jersey with the number 8 on it, Carter's number. 

My Expos were a pretty good team back then but generally came up just short of making the post season. The one year they did make it was 1981, the strike season. We lost out to the Dodger's on a Rick Monday home run. That is the closest they ever came to the World Series. As is often the case, the team blamed their best player for not winning instead of looking a the black hole that was our middle infield.

The came December 10, 1984, Carter was traded to the Mets for, well, for a bunch of guys whose names I don't remember. Now back then this was an unusual type of trade. Star players didn't make so much money that teams couldn't afford them so players were traded more on playing value. Good players stayed with their teams, often for their whole career.

Anyway skip ahead a bunch of years (far more years than I care to think about) and I have a new favorite team and new favorite player. A couple of years ago I got a new team jersey with his name and number. Again he's best player in baseball at his position.

If baseball teaches us fans anything, it teaches us how to deal with disappointment and to enjoy the little things. When you don't have a winning team, it great to have things to point to that you enjoy. Us Jay fans have been lucky enough to get to watch Doc. But it also teaches us that all things come to an end. 

What people forget is that Doc wasn't always an ace. He came up at the end of the 1998 season, made two starts, one that was a one hitter, the hit coming with 2 out in the ninth. The next year he spent the season with us bouncing back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. Then in 2000 he was terrible. Terrible doesn't even describe it, he had a 10.67. ERA. Can you imagine a young pitcher on the Jays now having an ERA like that now. Scott Richmond has a couple of poor months and folks write him off. Brandon League has a handful of bad innings and people call for his head. How many times have we read that Brett Cecil will never be more than a number 3 pitcher at best. 

Maybe that's one of the reasons why I like Halladay so much. It didn't just come easy for him. He had to re-work his whole delivery. He works at his craft. Very hard. The past couple of seasons he reinvented himself again, changing from having a low strikeout rate (5.6 per 9 in 2007) to becoming a guy that got a good number of strikeouts (7.8 per 9 in 2009).

As he leaves the Jays he is 2nd in Jay history in Wins (148), 3rd in Games Started (287), 3rd in Innnings (2047.2), 3rd in Complete Games (49) and 2nd in Strikeouts (1495).

I always kind of figured that one day we'd see that no-hitter from Doc. And that we'd get another Cy Young award. The great thing about watching him was that you had the chance to see something special every time out. We'll miss that. 

Favorite Doc moments? Maybe beating A.J. Burnett last season. You could pick any of the 18 times he beat the Yankees, he's 18-6 career against them, the team he's beat the second most behind the Orioles (20-4). Or seeing tape of him taking to the young kids that received the pitching lesson.  Or seeing him talk to one of the younger starters on the bench.

I guess my favorite moments were the rare moments he would smile. Generally at the end of a game. He is always so focused and serious on the mound, the odd moments he looked like he was enjoying himself stand out.

He is likely the guy I have written about the most over the past year and a half (well him or Kevin Millar). It will be strange not talking about him any more. 

Good luck, Roy. It has been a pleasure being able to watch you. 

Anyway, share your favorite memories in the comments area. 

The Jays announced a pair of signings this morning, one we knew about, John Buck and one we didn't, pitcher Lance Broadway. The press release is after the Jump

Continue reading this post »

Thought I'd give us a new thread to continue discussing this. 

Please guys let's not have this drag on a week before it's official. I know Rome wasn't built in a day but could this trade be finished in two or three days. 

So there is nothing much really new other than it's being Twittered all over that the Jays are flipping Michael Taylor for Brett Wallace from the A's. I was really looking forward to seeing Taylor in the outfield. Not sure I understand the point of getting Wallace, who looks like someone that will have to move to first base. I was hoping we were going to give Brian Dopirak a shot at first if Lyle is moved. And without Taylor we still have a gaping hole in RF. I was really hoping we were doing something that would stop Cito from using Bautista in RF this year. Wallace better be an amazing bat. 

Jon Heyman says the Halladay extension is done, 3 years and one vesting option year. So things should be moving forward. 

In other news the Red Sox signed Mike Cameron for 2 years and $15 million. Seems like a lot. So looks like Jason Bay won't be back there. If Cameron plays center and Ellsbury left they should have a much better outfield defense, but might cost them a bit of offense. 

Just for a momentary break from the all Roy Halladay all the time station, we will mention that Adam Lind has won the Edgar Martinez award as top DH. Congratulations Adam. Here is the press release.

Today MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL announced that ADAM LIND captured his first Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, named in 2004 in honour of the former Seattle Mariners designated hitter and 2010 Hall of Fame candidate.

LIND, 26, appeared in 95 games as a designated hitter in 2009, batting .299 with 21 home runs and 74 runs batted in. The Muncie, Indiana native posted a .539 slugging percentage and a .362 on-base percentage in addition to collecting 200 total bases, 60 runs scored and 26 doubles as a DH. Overall, the left-handed hitter appeared in 151 total games this season, batting .305 with 35 homers and setting club highs with 114 RBI and 46 doubles. His 81 extra-base hits were second best in the A.L., while his 114 total RBI placed third and his 35 homers, his 46 doubles and his 330 total bases all ranked fifth.