Once again I’m a little late delivering the goods because I wanted to make sure there were actual goods to deliver. In this case, it turns out there are.
The St. Louis Cardinals have traded third baseman Scott Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Troy Glaus. Fun trade. Rolen is 33 and has battled shoulder problems, while Glaus is 31 and has battled foot problems.
Career lines:
Rolen: 6380 PA, .283/.372/.507, 126 OPS+
Glaus: 5203 PA, .254/.358/.500, 121 OPS+
2007 lines:
Rolen: 441 PA, .265/.331/.398, 89 OPS+
Glaus: 456 PA, .262/.366/.473, 120 OPS+
Yikes, Rolen’s power has disappeared.
Peak lines:
Rolen: 593 PA, .314/.409/.598, 157 OPS+ (2004, …read more

Wait, what are we talking about?! We decided?! My best interest?! How can you know, how can you say what my best interest is? What are you trying to say? I’m crazy?
I’m pretty certain that Suicidal Tendencies didn’t have Major League Baseball in mind, but if the shoe fits…
A reader passed along an article (thanks!) at Smart Money called 10 Things Major League Baseball Won’t Tell You. It’s a fascinating, if disturbing, read.
On institutionalized ticket scalping:
Since 2001 teams have partnered with online brokers, allowing ticket holders to sell their seats for whatever the market bears; the team gets the initial …read more

Seems Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi isn’t happy with right-hander A.J. Burnett. You know, the guy Ricciardi signed to a huge contract not long ago despite a significant and known injury history?
Love this quote from Ricciardi:
When he takes the ball he’s good, we’ve got no complaints every times he’s been on the mound… we just need to find a way to keep him out there. I don’t know if it’s psychological, I don’t know if it’s just (that) he gets to a point where he feels something (that) he’s so scarred from being hurt so many times that he …read more

Toronto Blue Jays DH Frank Thomas knocked his 500th career home run on Thursday at Minnesota against the Twins’ Jose Silva. I’ve long admired Thomas, who truly was a force through most of the ’90s, and I’m glad to see him reach this milestone. Even now, when injuries and age have eroded his skills, he’s still mighty productive.
Entering Thursday’s game, Thomas ranked #12 all time in walks, #16 in OBP and #19 in SLG. He’s also on the career leader boards for runs scored, total bases, doubles, homers, RBI, and more. Basically, Thomas is one of the finest players of …read more

Barry Bonds hit the 747th home run of his career on Monday night to help the San Francisco Giants defeat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3. Bonds’ two-run shot off Josh Towers came in the fourth inning and landed beyond the fence in right-center, some 438 feet from home plate.
The Giants, meanwhile, improved their record to 29-34 and pulled to within two games of the Colorado Rockies for fourth place in the National League West. In related news, a Dallas-based auction house has removed the $1 million bounty it had placed on Bonds’ 756th home run ball.
Trying to muster the energy …read more

File under “S” for stupid: the Television Bureau of Canada has forced the Toronto Blue Jays to modify a television commercial that originally showed Frank Thomas engaged in a pillow fight with kids. Quoth Laurel Lindsay, the Blue Jays’ vice-president of marketing:
They said the child landing on the floor may have left the impression that he was hurt.
Right. You be the judge:

We’re talking about a freakin’ pillow fight! It’s not like anyone dropped an anvil on the kid’s head or made him eat a greasy cheeseburger.
Do they still show kids eating greasy cheeseburgers in commercials? I saw a kid do …read more