Skyping with Back in Blue

      Had some fun with @BackinBlue2012 while talking spring training with a bright light in my face. Check out my impression of @Reid_Price with a catcher's mitt and the latest on Travis Snider and Eric Thames. Man, both guys had terrific games Tuesday night against the Red Sox and put together some quality ABs. Once again, you have to admire how these two outfielders are handling the daily pressure of expectation and performance while trying to earn a starting job in left field. Also, Aaron Laffey is making a strong run to join the back end of the rotation. The lefty went five innings against the Red Sox, yielding a two-run homer to Kelly Shoppach, and retiring his final 10 batters ... Right now Toronto's rotation is looking like Romero, Morrow, Cecil, Alvarez, McGowan/Laffey. McGowan got knocked around on Tuesday, which definitely raises some questions about Dusty breaking camp in Toronto's rotation ... One more thing: the White Sox optioned Nestor Molina to Double-A Birmingham. AA is winning.

6,000 words for you on Friday

Right? If a picture is worth 1,000 words ... That ring you see is the 2011 Eastern League championship bling. Tweeps @Spookylish and @CanAsianMe borrowed the ring from team photographer Kevin Littlefield. Not sure if they gave it back. KL's photos:

Voracious meat eaters unite

     Travis Snider and Eric Thames have lockers on opposite sides of the clubhouse in Dunedin. There's a middle row of lockers dividing the sluggers that might as well represent Blue Jays Nation. There is Camp Snider (209 votes on our poll) and Camp Thames (117 votes). Lunch Box Hero backers are feeling pretty good right now, following another homer today by the voracious meat eater. "I like Eric Thames, I really do, but I hope Travis wins the LF job," tweeted @rallycap_andy. I admire how both outfielders are handling this day-to-day race. Thames on the job hunt: "When it's time to play, it's all business. There are no hard feeling whether he wins or I win. We both know that, hey, it's the business side of what we do," he said.
     When I asked him about his swing and seemingly patient approach right now, he said, "Swing-wise, I feel great. I'm just trying to get my eyes to adjust. There have been pitches I thought were a foot off the plate, but they were right on the black. Right now, I'm just looking to get more at-bats to let my eyes adjust and start picking up spins and getting more comfortable."

Kevin Littlefield/Staff

Thames also complimented Snider, saying, "He's a great clubhouse guy and a great teammmate."

Who you got?

Kevin Littlefield/Staff

Travis Snider takes the lead! With another blast today against the Pirates, that's three homers in as many games for Lunch Box Hero, including bombs against lefties Cesar Cabral and Zach Duke. "#StayHot," Snider hash-tagged yesterday. And he did!

Breaking down Snider's swing

A tantalizing Travis Snider homered against the Pirates on Wednesday and threw out another base runner, his third assist of the spring. A day earlier, however, he struck out three times against the Phillies and left my sun-tanning Blue Jays friends (hey, there, nice to finally meet you) shaking their heads in Dunedin, Fla. After the game, I talked with Snider about his evolving swing and the ongoing quest to find his timing -- and the battle with Eric Thames.  It's early, I know, and spring training is all about regaining your rhythm at the plate. There's another hitting coach in the picture, too. Snider is focusing on quieting his hands, seeing the ball deeper into the strike zone and "not pulling off" breaking pitches. We chatted for 10 minutes on the topic. Before turning on my voice recorder, I asked him why his swing has a tendency to be late to contact.

"You said it, the timing. In the past, I've had a lot move movement," he said. "I've started simplifying things with my hands and my 'gather' or 'load.' There are different ways to describe it, but it's all about making sure I'm on time to recognize the pitch, make the proper adjustment if necessary and hit the baseball." ... We talked about today's swing compared, to say, 2009:

"I started off mechanically great (in 2009) and fell off and got into some bad habits. Ever since then, it's been a matter of trying to figure out what's going to work for the long term instead of trying to find a Band-Aid to fix it," he said. "The biggest difference, I'd say, is where I start my hands and simplifying the movement and not having so much room to travel with my hands and getting into slot ... I'm working on waiting back on off-speed (pitches) without completely pulling off the baseball." ... Here's a look at one swing sequence against the Phillies:

Kevin Littlefield/Staff

Tank Thames channels Miyamoto Musashi

When I first interviewed Eric Thames in April 2010, he'd just finished reading "The Book of Five Rings" by Samurai sword master Miyamoto Musashi of the 17th century. Thames seemed to carry his baseball bat everywhere -- and he explained why: "(Miyamoto) says if you have a craft, you should spend all your time and energy trying to perfect it. It's baseball. You can't really perfect it, but you can make the attempt."


Thames homered four times in four days that week and finished the year with 27 homers and 104 RBI. His hands are so fast -- and his swing path so short and direct -- that he could hit a bullet. Tank is now on Twitter @EThames14.

Eric Thames, who possesses a quick and powerful swing,
will compete for a starting job in left field this season.
Kevin Littlefield photo

Let the Yoennis Cespedes bidding begin

The Blue Jays and other teams should be licking their chops as outfielder Yoennis Cespedes has just become a free agent. My sources tell me the reports you're hearing about the five-tool Cuban outfielder are not entirely overblown. Cespedes, 26, is widely considered one of the all-time top position-player prospects hailing from Cuba. He benches 350. He "hack squats" 600. But is he really 26? A high-ranking MLB scout told me today he doesn't believe it.


The Florida Marlins, soon to be renamed the Miami Marlins, will make a strong push to sign Cespedes, expected to command a $30 million contract. The Marlins lost out on the bidding for Aroldis Chapman and need some serious star power for their new stadium. Toronto could go after Cespedes, offering a corner outfield job, but I have just learned the Jays are not that interested. Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista have CF and RF locked down, and the other corner spot is up for grabs. Travis Snider and Eric Thames remain affordable options with plenty of upside. My feeling is the Jays may kick the tires, but they're not a player here.


Cespedes has power and pedigree. His mom, Estela Milanés, pitched for the Cuban softball team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. There is a great line at Baseball-Reference that simply states: "Unlike his mother, Yoennis has made his mark as a hitter." UPDATE: The odd yet enlightening video of Cespedes making the rounds today has since been removed by the YouTube user, but here is some video of his balanced and textbook swing.