Friday, May 9, 2008

Waiting for Wilkerson

We're still waiting for the official word, but who are we to doubt Jeff Blair's report from last night that the Jays are about to sign Brad Wilkerson.

We've got mixed thoughts on this one. We like Wilkerson, but he really hasn't played well since leaving Montreal. There could be an argument made that the spacious grounds at RFK Stadium ate into his power numbers, but that wouldn't explain why his strikeouts have gone up and his walk rate has diminshed over the past few seasons. (Unless he was always swinging for the fences.)

As for the odd stat that he hits lefties better than righties, we can't shake the feeling that somehow, that's a bit of a fluke. We know that sounds stupid, but we also remember the lousy year he had against lefties in 2006, and wonder why he suddenly couldn't hit them.

Still, Wilkerson is a versatile player who can play anywhere in the outfield and at first. For the dirt cheap price that the Jays will end up paying, he's at least worth a look.

Useless Wilkerson Trivia
This will be the third Canadian city in which Wilkerson plays, after stints in Ottawa and Montreal. We'll bet he's still got a sack full of loonies and mountie quarters that he'll want to get rid of.

Also, Wilkerson's always worn a single digit number in the big leagues (usually 6 or 7), but all of the single digit numbers with the Jays have been claimed. Maybe a nice Timex watch express posted to Curtis Thigpen would wrest lucky number 7 out of his grasp.

(And yes, sad as it is, we care about such things. Numerology matters. Just ask our numerologist.)

14 comments:

Torgen said...

The way Thigpen is hitting in AAA, he's not going to need his number any time soon.

Torgen said...

Also, I don't think 0 is in use. Can teams assign a player 0? And would Wilkerson want it?

Tao of Stieb said...

We thought the Jays had retired 0 in honour of Al Oliver.

Ian Gray said...

Who's got number 3?

Darryl said...

Maybe Wilkenson will go all Gretzky on his number and bust out the 99.

Torgen said...

I don't think the Jays have retired any numbers, except for 42. Several of the Level of Excellence numbers are in use.

Tao of Stieb said...

Torgen,

Please refrain from taking us so literally.

Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

The Management

Tao of Stieb said...

Hey, there is nobody who's got 3.

Still, 3's hardly a dignified number.

Torgen said...

Next you're going to tell me I'm not actually banned by the Drunks for that "Experience Beej" thing.

Anonymous said...

He could always haul out the old double zero.

Anonymous said...

Official. They signed Wilkerson and they traded for Kevin Mench.

Chacin DFA'd.

Andrew said...

Sergio Santos was DFA'd too.

So now we have what... 33 outfielders?

Tao of Stieb said...

00 is retired for Cliff Johnson.

Because he was FUCKING AWESOME, that's why!

This is gonna be real interesting...but you've gotta admit that the status quo wasn't working.

Anonymous said...

...isn't '00' reserved for the bat boy?