BRADENTON, Fla. -- Bling in Bradenton! That was the pregame theme as members of the 2011 Fisher Cats got their first look at the Eastern League championship ring before today's game against the Pirates. Fisher Cats team photographer Kevin Littlefield, who was given a ring for all his hard work through the years, showed it off following batting practice ... "It was awesome. I can't even describe it with words, when you see the symbol of all the hard work," said Travis d'Arnaud, who played against his older brother, Pirates infielder Chase.
Travis Snider drove in three runs, and catcher Jeff Mathis made a "web gem" (John Farrell's words) in the fifth inning, pouncing on a well-placed bunt by Alex Presley ... Anthony Gose put on a display of speed and athleticism, scoring from second base on a squib grounder to the right side during Toronto's 8-5 win. Hard to fathom, I know. Gose said he just kept going on the Snider chopper, and, luckily for him, Pirates were caught sleeping ... I asked Gose after the game, "Were trying to show off your speed or what?" He replied, "Gotta do something!"
Is it Tuesday yet? We're all dying to know if the Blue Jays, indeed, posted the highest bid on Yu Darvish. I believe they did, and I believe the Nippon Ham Fighters will accept that bid. This is based on my own talks with members of the Blue Jays organization, but nobody will be 100-percent positive until MLB makes the Tuesday announcement. The good folks at Jays Journal gave 10 Reasons why the expensive acquisition of Mr. Darvish makes sense. I've seen first-hand how John Farrell helped Dice-K make the transition to Boston, and Darvish should be excited about potentially working with Farrell ... It's only Sunday. Can we skip Monday? P.S. Random swag winner today. Email me at graymatter11@aol.com.
Bobby Valentine is a bridge to John Farrell. That's how the Red Sox will end up playing this out, after the Bobby V Era ends in a year or two. Not a good fit, as I wrote in today's "On Baseball" column in the Newt-endorsing New Hampshire Union Leader: "Valentine will make a splash, all right ... He'll win the press conference one day and turn a small brush fire into a raging inferno the next."
The Red Sox really missed Farrell as their pitching coach in 2011, when starters went rogue on their Beer and Wings Tour, and they'll be longing for him to return as manager. Farrell is under contract through 2013. The over/under on Bobby V in Boston is 1-1/2 years ... For a fleeting moment Sunday night, it appeared Houston's Brad Mills might enter the picture and become the No. 1 seed for the Red Sox job. Twitter was abuzz with Mills-to-Boston talk after Ken Rosenthal reported GM Ed Wade is about to be fired in a house cleaning. However, it's now sounding like Mills is staying with the Astros. Interesting!
The Red Sox desperately missed the guidance and voice of John Farrell in 2011 -- and it showed down the stretch as Josh Beckett led a Beer and Wings Tour de Force. Once the Blue Jays learned that Farrell was might be targeted to manage the Red Sox, they changed a policy and will no longer grant permission for lateral moves.
No, Boston, you can't have Farrell. He's under contract for two more years. We like him. Take a hike. That's essentially what the Jays said by making a policy change. Bob Elliott wrote a terrific piece on this topic today, saying if Farrell left Toronto, it would leave the Jays feeling like "second-class citizens in their own division."
More Elliott: "The Jays would have been like the Kansas City Athletics in the 1950s and 1960s, when K.C. served as a farm team for the New York Yankees, although both were in the American League."
Travis Snider drove in three runs, and catcher Jeff Mathis made a "web gem" (John Farrell's words) in the fifth inning, pouncing on a well-placed bunt by Alex Presley ... Anthony Gose put on a display of speed and athleticism, scoring from second base on a squib grounder to the right side during Toronto's 8-5 win. Hard to fathom, I know. Gose said he just kept going on the Snider chopper, and, luckily for him, Pirates were caught sleeping ... I asked Gose after the game, "Were trying to show off your speed or what?" He replied, "Gotta do something!"
