MLB: Who Will the Toronto Blue Jays Trade By Tomorrow?

The the MLB non-waiver trade deadline tomorrow I am curious to see who the Toronto Blue Jays will trade to continue to try to build a contender in the American League East division.

Many people in the baseball community feel that Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor, and John Buck may be dealt as they may not fit into the Blue Jays future plans.  I do not think there is any way they can trade Vernon Wells as he still has a lot of money left on his deal.  There are also rumors that they would trade Lyle Overbay if the right deal came along.

Scott Downs should be able to get the Blue Jays a decent prospect or two because he is a left handed releiver and any team that is contending can never have enough left handers in their bullpen.  I predict Downs
goes to a contender in the National League, my guess is the Atlanta Braves.

I can see why the Blue Jays may try to trade catcher John Buck.  He is having a fantastic season by his standards and a team that is making a push for the playoffs could use him as a starter or a strong back-up.  I am sure he is hoping he would be in a starters role.  I could see the Cincinnati Reds making a push for John Buck. Toronto Blue Jays Authentic On Field Game 59FIFTY Cap (7 1/4)

I do not see a team willing to give up enough for Kevin Gregg and therefore see him staying a Blue Jay for the remainder of the season.  To be honest he has not done that bad of a job. I also feel that Jason Frasor will not get that much attention from other teams.  For what the Blue Jays will get for him in return I think they should keep him.  He could move into the closer role if by chance the Blue Jays trade Kevin Gregg.

I do not see the Blue Jays giving up on Adam Lind or Aaron Hill.  Lind has had a good July hitting close to .300.  I am sure the team will hope both of them will finish strong and bounce back next season.

My prediction is that Scott Downs will be traded for sure with John Buck also switching teams.  In about 24 hours we will see if I have any idea what I am talking about. :)

Perhaps with the trades the Blue Jays may pull off they will be able to return to the glory years of 1992 and 1993. Man, that was a long time ago.  Perhaps buying this would help bring back the memories? MLB Vintage World Series Films - Toronto Blue Jays 1992 & 1993

NHL Trade: Simon Gagne Trade Equals Salary Dump

Today's trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning certainly shows we are in the cap era! Wow, what a salary dump! Do not get me wrong, I am not saying it is a terrible move. If the Flyers main goal was to get Gagne's salary off their books then they succeeded.

To the Lightning: Simon Gagne

To the Flyers: Matt Walker and their 4th round pick in the 2011 entry draft.

Matt Walker is a 30 year old defenceman who has very limited offensive skill. I am not sure what his chances will be of making the team. You would think they would want him to play for them if they made the trade.

Matt Walker's cap hit for next season is 1.7 million while Simon Gagne's cap hit is 5.25 million. The Flyers needed to get under the cap and this trade made that happen.

Simon Gagne is a very talented offensive player when he is healthy. The key word there was healthy. He is one big hit away from ending his career. He scored 17 goals and had 40 points in 58 games last year. He has had 4-30 goal seasons and two of those seasons he scored over 40 goals. He will most likely get a chance to play on the top line in Tampa with Lecavalier and Martin St.Louis. This could be a very difficult line to stop on a nightly basis.

If I was a GM of a NHL team I am not sure if I would take the chance on a player like Gagne because of his concussion issues. If I did make a trade I would do it like Tampa did in not giving up a front line player and take my chances. I am sure the salary is insured in case of injury. After thinking it over though I think I would have passed and tried my luck on another player, although I am certainly not surprised a team took a chance on him.

Toronto Blue Jays: Aaron Hill: Why The Slow First Half?

If you are a Toronto Blue Jays fan like I am you may be wondering the same thing. Why did Aaron Hill have such a slow start? With 2009 being such a fantastic year with him winning a silver slugger award, the comeback player of the year in the American league, and making the All-Star team I figured he was well on his way to becoming an elite player for the Jays for many years to come. This may still happen but the first half of the season has certainly been a bump in the road.

Last year Aaron Hill hit .286 with 36 home runs and 108 RBIs. He hit 37 doubles, had 195 hits and scored 103 runs. You could put those numbers up against anyone in baseball and realize he had an outstanding season.

This year has been completely different. He is currently hitting .189 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs. He has 12 doubles, 53 hits, and 33 runs scored. You can basically double the hitting stats to get a projection of where he will finish at his current pace. A statistical concern is also that his slugging percentage is down a whopping .140 points and his on base percentage is down nearly .60 points.

So, the big question is why is Aaron Hill having such a difficult season? Some people may say he has just come back to Earth but I would disagree with that comment. The two seasons before he had his season-ending concussion he had 177 and 159 hits respectively, so the guy can hit. I think the big problem for him this season is he can not shake the nagging hamstring injury which popped up in early April. It has landed him on the disabled list and has made him also miss a few games he would have normally played in. With baseball being a sport that is played almost every day it will be extremely hard for him to be able to heal the hamstring fully. I am sure the rest during the All-Star break will help.

Aaron Hill is my favorite player on the Jays and I am hoping he will turn his season around and finish with a strong second half. I even picked him up in the fantasy pool I am in hoping he will do so.

My season ending stats for Aaron Hill are as follows:

BA: .222 HR: 28 RBI 72

Let me know what you think he will end with. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments.

*Thanks to TSN for the stats.

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CANADIENS AGREE TO ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH LAPIERRE

With me being a Canadiens fan I thought I would post the signing of Maxim Lapierre to a one year deal. RDS is reporting that it is worth $900 000. Last year he scored 7 goals and added 7 assists. Many people would and should ask the questions: Is that worth $900 000 a year? Obviously Montreal think so as they just signed him. He does play a certain role as an agitator and many people do not like him because of it but he does do that role well. He did perform well in the playoffs as well, not by scoring a lot of points but taking players off their game. Many people also feel that he is a diver and dislike him because of that. It is a bad reputation to have and I hope that is part of the game he fixes as that drives me crazy as well.

His point total was down by half from the previous season but hopefully he will be able to contribute on a fairly regular basis.

My prediction for the upcoming season is : 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points.

What are your thoughts of the signing? Leave a comment and let me know.

*Thanks to TSN as a source for the stats.

Ilya Kovalchuk...Where Will He Sign?

Well with reports of Ilya Kovalchuk going to L.A. today for a face to face meeting with team management I thought I would ask the question.....Where do you think he will sign? I am a huge Montreal Canadiens fan but realize he will not be going there so I am hoping he does not sign in their division as he could hurt them many times over the course of a season. If he signs in the Western conference he will not be seen as much by Montreal.

Kovalchuk who had 41 goals and 44 assists in 76 games with New Jersey and Atlanta this year and being 27 years old still has many productive season left. It has been rumoured that L.A has offered two different contracts to Kovalchuk. These reported offerings are: 12 years at $63 million and 13 years at $84.5 million. He has also been rumoured to have been offered a multi-year contract to play with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia in the KHL. The New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders have also shown interest in him. I personally can not see him going to the Islanders as I have read he wants to have a chance to win as well and that most likely will not happen on Long Island.

Here are my thoughts: I think L.A. will make a strong push today to try to get him signed. If this does not happen I think he will re-sign with the Devils with a multi-year deal. There are many teams who would like his goal scoring capabilities but do not have the cap space to make an offer. I think some teams may also be concerned with what he brings to the room, although I certainly do not have any inside information.

Where ever Ilya Kovalchuk decides to sign, whether it is in the NHL or KHL, he will be a very wealthy man and will certainly help with the offence with his team. I would imagine a decision will happen within the next few weeks.

My Prediction: Ilya Kovalchuk signs with L.A. Kings for 9 years and 7.9 million per season.

What is your prediction? Let me know.

Hello All

Hello Everyone,

I have been writing a fishing blog found at: http://fishingfunnb.blogspot.com/ and I have decided to start writing about the two sports I enjoy the most, hockey and baseball. I am certainly not an expert when it comes to these two sports but I hope to discuss the hot topics for these two sports as they come up. This could be the performance of certain players and teams, trades, trade rumours, free agency, and more. I hope you you sign up to follow and add any comments at the end of each blog to start a bit of a discussion.
That is enough of that. Now on to decide what my first topic will be.