Observation #4: DeRosa Picking up Where Vizquel Left Off?

Die-hard Jays fans know by now that Mark DeRosa is signed for that final bench spot on the 25-man roster at a guaranteed $750K. With severely diminished stats at 37 years of age, he's being touted as more of a mentor/cheer-leader than on-field contributor. He's not expected to make too many appearances due to TO's deeper than usual bench this year. However, something similar was said last year, and Omar Vizquel (that 25th man) ended up with 153 AB's over appearances in 60 games. So although it's nice to say we just need someone with a strong presence in the club-house, we do need production from that individual. The difference in making or missing the play-offs could potentially prove to be as little as a single win.  None of the 60 games that 25th man will appear in can be taken for granted on a play-off serious team. And some of those appearances will likely come in the form of tight-game/extra innings pinch-hit type appearances.

My grand-father was a man I revered; a once naval-boxer that allegedly could break a man's ribs with a single punch. I knew he was a fine physical specimin back in his day.  But I recall horror when, in his 60's, he once tried to throw a stray ball back into a pick-up game in the yard... it went straight into the dirt not 3 feet from where he stood. I'm so proud of what he accomplished in his life-time, but it was awful to publicly witness the ravishing effects of age on a man like that. I then had to explain to all my friends after what a great man he was to save face. Take 45-year-old Omar Vizquel's feeble slide into Jose Molina on September 2, 2012 - a game ending play at the plate. Omar has everyone's utmost respect as a guaranteed future Hall-of-Famer, and his mere presence on the team was intended to inspire greatness. It wasn't just the poor-mechanics of that ill-executed slide, but the snails-pace rounding of third and 'dash' to home from a once-outstanding speedster that framed a scene of debilitating aging effects. Maybe that's an unfair example to characterize the entirety of his 2012 Toronto contributions with. But it's the sort of incident that can sabotage the impact of a mentor, and serve as an example of why that 25th roster spot should go to a completely capable individual. When DeRosa comes in with a game on the line, are we going to be reassured by his abilities or embarrassed for him? His stat lines don't suggest that he's a Raul Ibanez type of veteran; the type of veteran that you can hope to come off the bench and pinch-hit in the ninth for a game-winning homerun. That type of 25th guy will cost, oh, about $2.5 million.

I'm thinking back to the days of "The Trenches" (reminded by Tao of Stieb); Toronto's bench players that were more than just bench players.  Derek Bell, Ed Sprague, and Turner Ward were all under 30 years of age in 1992.  Young guys with enthusiasm and energy that were dying to contribute in any way they could.  They were physically capable of whatever they were thrown into, and were dying to make the most of every opportunity.  They were mostly unproven, and we didn't know at the time whether they were going to be all-stars someday, or disappear altogether. The old veteran leadership came from the players like Dave Winfield, who came into the game with a bang for real. Not to say that this is 'The' correct formula for success, but I would rather see young underused guys coming off the bench chomping at the bit than an old overused guy that's not what he used to be. Tao of Stieb actually referred to DeRosa's new role as "Mice Nuts" - too small to be significant. On last years’ Jays maybe that's true.  But this year we're expecting every game to count.

I'll feel bad if DeRosa (or Vizquel) were to ever read this post (not likely though). Don't get me wrong, I respect them for their respective career accomplishments, and I'd definitely ask for their autograph if I met them. But in hoping to see my favorite team playing October baseball, DeRosa's stat-lines for the last 3 years suggest 'the old gray mare, she's not what she used to be', and we know there’s been some injuries involved that have relegated him to a bench-role by necessity. There are some much younger guys available (maybe already in the Jays farm system) that could fill a similar role in "The Trenches", except be expected to steal a base in a pinch-run situation.  We've heard reference to DeRosa's behind-the-scenes speech making abilities, but there are some great motivational speakers for hire who could do that job for a lot less - without taking up a spot on the 25 man roster.

In keeping with the spirit of this blog, I'm going to once again defer to AA's superior judgement because... I have no choice. I'll assume AA got exactly what he was looking for because we know he's looking at a bigger picture than the rest of us. I'm going to rooting for Mark every at-bat... but I'll likely be chewing my fingernails off in the process.