1/14/01 - David Wells has been traded to the Chicago White Sox along with Matt DeWitt in exchange for Mike Sirotka, Brian Simmons, and two minor-league pitchers.
Update: By now I'm sure you have all heard of the controversy surrounding this trade, because Mike Sirotka has an injured left shoulder and will most likely be unable to pitch at all this upcoming season. The Jays are seeking compensation, and Bud Selig is looking into the matter as of this moment. Stay tuned.

11/3 - Congrats to Carlos Delgado, who was selected as the Player of the Year at the 2000 Player's Choice Awards, over the two other finalists, Barry Bonds and Todd Helton. The Jays first baseman also picked up the award for Outstanding AL Player, and was the only player to win two awards on the night. The event took place at the Paris Hotel but Delgado was in Japan with the MLB All-Stars, who earlier in the day had defeated the Japanese All-Stars with help from a Delgado homer. The honors are voted on by the players annually.
More: Also on Friday, the Jays made it official that the team's new manager would be Buck Martinez. The final decision came down to Martinez or Oakland bench coach Ken Mancha, and the Jays opted for the former, who was the team's catcher from 1981-86, color commentator since 1987, and ESPN commentator since 1992. "There's much more experienced candidates, but at the same time nobody comes in with the background and the knowledge of the players that I do," Martinez said at the press conference. He will take over a team that went 83-79, finishing third in the AL East in 2000. The Jays' nucleus of Carlos Delgado, Tony Batista, Raul Mondesi, Brad Fullmer, Shannon Stewart and Billy Koch is entering its prime, with young pitchers Chris Carpenter, Kelvim Escobar, and Roy Halladay on the verge of being top-notch. The team expects to contend for the World Series next season. Cookie Rojas of the New York Mets, former Toronto player Garth Iorg, and ex-Arizona pitching coach Mark Connor join hitting coach Cito Gaston and third base coach Terry Bevington on Martinez's coaching staff. Iorg will be the first base coach, Connor is the new pitching coach and Rojas is the bench coach.

10/20 - I know I haven't updated in ages, and I apologize, but right now we've got huge news. Carlos Delgado has just become the highest-paid player in baseball, as on Friday the Jays agreed with their star first baseman to a four-year, $68 million deal. The deal, which will cancel out the $36 million contract signed last season, will lock up Delgado at $17 million a year. Delgado will receive a $4.8 million signing bonus and salaries of $10 million in 2001, $17.2 million in 2002, $17.5 million in 2003 and $18.5 million in 2004. None of the money is deferred, and Delgado gets a complete no-trade clause. "I've said it before and I'll say it again," Delgado said at a news conference in Toronto. "It's good to be back. I firmly believe we have the talent here to win and I'm here to win. We worked out a great deal. I'm extremely happy. I'd like to play my whole career in Toronto." Is that awesome news or what? I'm starting to like this Rogers ownership. On another note, Delgado has been named the 2000 Hank Aaron Award recipient for the AL. The honor, introduced in 1999, is voted on by the play-by-play broadcasters and color analysts from each club's radio and television rights-holders, and it recognizes the best overall hitter in each league for a particular season (Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies won in the NL). And as if you didn't know already, GM Gord Ash has had his contract extended for three more years, but manager Jim Fregosi has been given the boot. Apparently, the Jays are looking to bring in someone like a Paul Molitor or Buck Martinez for the position. Stay tuned.

8/31 - Over the past three days, the Jays have taken two of three from the Anaheim Angels, and have stayed in the AL wild card hunt, now two games back of Cleveland. Yesterday, David Wells (W, 19-5) picked up the win despite leaving after five innings with discomfort in his shoulder. Brad Fullmer homered twice (28), while Tony Batista (37) and Darrin Fletcher (17) both connected as well. Carlos Delgado moved closer to Edgar Martinez in his Triple Crown run by driving in four runs to up his season total to 124. On one more note, Delgado is now the club record holder for most extra-base hits in a single season, as he doubled on Monday to break Shawn Green's old mark of 87 set last year. The Jays get today off, and will start a weekend series with Oakland tomorrow. Also, if you haven't heard, the Jays are very close to being sold to Rogers Communications, Inc., Canada's largest cable firm. The deal is reportedly worth around $110 to $150 million, with Rogers getting at least 80% of the organization. On one final note, the Jays and the Rangers are discussing plans for starting off the 2001 MLB season with two games in Puerto Rico, homeland of both Delgado and Texas' Ivan Rodriguez.

8/27 - Darrin Fletcher broke out of a 1-13 slump in a big way, hitting three solo homers (16) to lead the Jays to a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers. Steve Trachsel (W, 7-11) pitched six solid innings, and Billy Koch (S, 31) picked up the save. Fletcher became the ninth backstop in ML history to get the hat trick in a single game, and it was the first time in his career. The Jays have now won five of their last six, and are right in the middle of the AL wild card chase, 1½ games back of rival Boston.

8/26 - Joey Hamilton (W, 1-0) picked up his first win in over a year, as he pitched six strong innings to lead the Jays to a 9-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Hamilton, in his second start coming back from shoulder surgery, allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three. The offense came from Shannon Stewart, who tied a career-high with four hits, and Carlos Delgado, who knocked his league-leading 47th double. Jose Cruz Jr and Alex Gonzalez both had long balls. On a side note, pitching coach Dave Stewart had to be restrained on the team bench as he was incensed at reliever John Frascatore who at one point through six consecutive balls. Hopefully this situation will get cleared up so the Jays can concentrate on a more important issue at hand - making the playoffs. Toronto is currently 2½ games back of wildcard-leading Boston.

8/25 - Well, I'm back and it seems like all's well with the Jays. As you might know by now, the Jays took a brief two game set from the Kansas City Royals. The following is how Stefan from Jays Crazy summed it up... First game: 5-3 KC, 8th inning. Starter puts two on. Reliever comes in, first pitch Fullmer hits a three run jack. His second pitch, Batista slams it. 7-5 final score. Second game: 8-3 KC, 7th inning. They pull the starter, Delgado hits a three run jack and Batista doubles in another to tie it. Delgado hits his second of the game to win it 9-8. Kelvim Escobar won both games in relief and Billy Koch got both saves.
Update: David Wells pitched well enough to pick up his 19th win, but it didn't happen, as the Rangers limited the Jays to a mere five hits in winning a 11-inning game 1-0. Rusty Greer drove in the winning run off Billy Koch (L, 6-3), and ended Toronto's three-game win streak.

8/20 - David Wells (W, 18-5) became the first Jays lefty to reach 18 wins in a season, as he pitched his AL-leading eighth complete game to lead Toronto to a 6-3 win over the Twins. Wells allowed three runs on nine hits, while striking out seven and walking none. His 18th win is the most in the majors thus far this season, and is a new personal career-high. On the offensive side of things, Shannon Stewart went 3-5 and drove in a pair of runs, while Jose Cruz Jr, hitting in the third spot, picked up the game-winning RBI. I'll be away from Monday to Friday, so during that time, check out the Jays' Official Site to stay up to date.

8/16 - Yesterday, David Wells (L, 17-5) took the loss in his 300th career start, as the Angels beat the Jays, 8-4. After the game, Wells spoke about the game, and his current slump. Anyhow, there's player news to report today, as the Jays have placed Frank Castillo on the 15-day DL because of sprained right muscles and a sprained ligament in his right elbow. To replace him, the team has brought up Joey Hamilton, who will fit into the rotation and make his first start Saturday. On one more note, Raul Mondesi has successfully undergone surgery on his right elbow, as he had 12 bone chips removed by Dr. John Uribe, a consulting orthopedic physician for the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Mondesi will start working back in 21 days, and will aim for next season.
Update: In a game in which three players blasted their 35th homer of the season, Carlos Delgado's was the biggest. The Jays' first baseman hit a walk-off two-run shot off Angels reliever Lou Pote (L, 1-1), and left the field to chants of "MVP!" Tony Batista and Anaheim's Troy Glaus also hit their 35th dingers on the year, while Alex Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 14 games. After the game, Delgado talked about being the hero and manager Jim Fregosi gave his take on the many close games the Jays have played. Both clips can be found at The Sounds.

8/13 - After two straight losses, the Jays finally defeated the Minnesota Twins, crushing them by a score of 13-3 this afternoon. Alex Gonzalez went 3-6 with a home run and five RBI, Tony Batista had a 4-5 game, and Carlos Delgado (34) and Brad Fullmer (25) both went deep. The biggest bright spot, however, would have to be Chris Carpenter (W, 9-10), who picked up the win after Frank Castillo left in the second inning with tightness in his forearm. Carpenter, who also got the victory in the Jays' last win, three days prior against the KC Royals, pitched 5-1/3 brilliant innings of emergency relief. He allowed only two runs on five hits while striking out seven batters. The Jays can now move to within 4½ games of the Yankees if New York loses later tonight, and 4 games of the A's if they lose their game.

8/10 - Chris Carpenter (W, 8-10) might be trying to make a statement. Today, Carpenter threw 4-1/3 shutout innings of relief, as the Toronto offense exploded en route to a 15-7 win over the Royals. With David Wells getting knocked out early, allowing seven earned runs over 3-2/3, Carpenter stepped in and pitched magnificently, striking out five while allowing only two hits. Ironically, Carpenter has pitched better from the pen than he has when starting this season. The offense, meanwhile, was led by Tony Batista, Shannon Stewart, and Brad Fullmer, who all hit homers. Batista's shot in the fourth, his 34th, gave him the AL-lead. Carlos Delgado continued his awesome season with two RBI to raise his total to 103. Six Jays starters drove in at least two runs, while the team hammered out a total of 17 hits. The win, combined with Oakland's loss today, leaves the Jays only three games back of the A's for the AL wild card. On some other news, Rob Ducey has been sent back to the Phillies as the player to be named in the deal that brought Mickey Morandini to the Jays, which in essence means Ducey got traded for himself (John Sneed was sent to Philadelphia when Ducey came to Toronto). Also, Peter Munro has been sent to Texas to complete the deal for Dave Martinez. Finally, starting pitcher Joey Hamilton will rejoin the Jays on Sunday, after undergoing rehab. Hamilton had shoulder surgery last September and will make one more start with Syracuse before making his return.

8/8 - The Jays moved to within four games back of the Oakland A's for the wild card and stayed 4½ behind the Yanks for the East, as they topped Kansas City, 6-1. Frank Castillo went seven strong innings for his eighth straight victory, allowing just four hits and one run. Castillo, who lowered his ERA to 3.91, needed only 83 pitches before giving way to Mark Guthrie and John Frascatore to finish it off. Alex Gonzalez, Brad Fullmer, and newly-acquired Mickey Morandini all contributed with three hits, while Carlos Delgado picked up his 101st RBI of the season. The Jays will have to play like this the rest of the way if they want to gain a playoff spot, though, as right-fielder Raul Mondesi has decided to undergo season-ending elbow surgery on Monday, hoping to be ready next season.

8/6 - The Jays' three-game winning streak was snapped this afternoon, as the Texas Rangers won, 11-6. After David Wells picked up his ML-leading 17th win last night, the Jays were unable to keep the momentum, and gave up a run in each of the innings from the fourth on. The only bright spots were newcomer Dave Martinez, who homered in his first Jays at-bat, and Carlos Delgado, who tied teammate Tony Batista for the league-lead in homers with his 33rd of the year. During the game, the Jays acquired second baseman Mickey Morandini from the Phillies for a player to be named later. Morandini will fill in for the injured Homer Bush.

8/5 - The Jays won their second in a row last night, as Darrin Fletcher got the game-winning double in the eighth off Mike Venafro (L, 1-1) of the Rangers, leading Toronto to a 10-8 victory. Paul Quantrill (W, 2-5) allowed a couple of Texas runs to score in the eighth, but ended up with the victory as the Jays rallied. Billy Koch (S, 26) picked up his second save in as many days, pitching a perfect ninth. Steve Trachsel got the no-decision in his first start for the Jays, going 6-1/3 innings while surrendering five runs, four of which were earned. On a couple roster notes, Roy Halladay was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Trachsel, and the Jays have acquired Dave Martinez from the Rangers to fill in for the injured Raul Mondesi.

8/4 - Frank Castillo (W, 8-5) picked up his seventh straight win, and the Jays finally ended a six-game losing skid, beating the Texas Rangers, 3-1. Castillo went seven strong innings, walking none while striking out five and only allowing a run on four hits. Billy Koch (S, 25) picked up the save, pitching a perfect ninth. On a night when the Jays needed singles to drive in all three of their runs, they sparkled on defense. Shannon Stewart made a tremendous backwards running catch, while Frank Castillo made a diving catch on a Texas bunt attempt to start a double play. After the game, Castillo talked about ending the losing streak, and the clip is available at The Sounds. On some bad news, Raul Mondesi's season may be over, as it looks like he'll require surgery on his injured elbow, which would cause him to miss the rest of the season. He says he'll wait a week before deciding for sure. One more thing to note, in the Jays' 5-4 loss to the A's on Wednesday, Tony Batista hit his 32nd homer to break the club record for long-balls by a third baseman. Kelly Gruber and Ed Sprague both had 31 in 1990 and '96, respectively.

8/1 - Billy Koch (L, 5-2) knew it was over as soon as he threw it. Koch gave up a walk-off home run to Randy Velarde in the bottom of the 10th, as the A's topped the Jays, 3-1, and handed them their fifth consecutive loss. Velarde's homer, which also happened to be his 1000th career hit, came off a 3-1 offering from Koch, who following the game said, "I might as well have walked up to the plate and put it on the tee for him." Tony Batista made the only offensive contribution with an RBI single, and he later would add a triple. Esteban Loaiza received the no-decision but had a great outing, lasting eight innings while striking out eight and allowing only a single run. Adding injury to insult, Homer Bush was placed on the DL prior to the game with a nondisplaced hairline fracture on the back of his left hand.

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