Oh, Canada... How could you?

I know that baseball probably isn't much of a draw in Canada, but there have to be a few fans scattered throughout the country, right?

I bring this up because the following appears in the line items for MLB.com's online streaming package:

All live Toronto Blue Jays games are blacked out throughout the entire country of Canada.

Ouch. Sucks to be a fan of the Jays.

Blue Jays tell Thomas to beat it

The news out of Toronto this morning is that designated hitter Frank Thomas, who as recently as yesterday was complaining about his playing time, has been released.

According to MLB.com:

The 39-year-old slugger was told Saturday that he would lose playing time after a slow start in which he batted .167 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 16 games.

"Basically, I've been told that I'm not going to be in that lineup," Thomas said Saturday. "[Manager John Gibbons] told me that this morning. I see it as something else is going on. We'll see how that plays out.

"You know what's going on and I know what's going on. We'll see how it plays out. I'm just a little frustrated right now. There are some things going on around here this year that I haven't been happy about."

The story also alludes to a contract stipulation that Thomas sees another 300 at-bats to lock in his paycheck for next year.

Regardless, this opens a new option for AL teams looking for a stopgap DH and missed on Thomas the last time around. At the very least, it adds another name to the list for teams who were taking a look at Barry Bonds but were scared away by the baggage that comes along with that deal.

Well, unless you're worried about the whole pillow fight controversy.

(Image from: Deadspin.com)

Toronto locks up stars to long-term deals

Just in time for the Blue Jays' home opener, the team announced long(ish)-term deals with two of their young stars - Alex Rios and Aaron Hill.

Here are the breakdowns on the payouts, according to the Toronto Star:

The team signed two-time all-star right-fielder Alex Rios to a US$64-million, six-year extension that contains an option for the 2015 season worth $13.5 million.

Second baseman Aaron Hill inked a $12-million, four-year contract that starts this season and contains options for 2012, 2013 and 2014. The options are not year-to-year – the Blue Jays must extend him for either one season at $8 million, two at $16 million, or three at $26 million.

The keys here are four- and six-year deals that will keep both players with the Jays long enough to make a run with their current lineup. Take a look - it's really better than you think if you haven't been paying attention.

Toronto GM JP Ricciardi stressed a desire to keep home-grown talent with the organization, which seems to be the best plan for the Blue Jays if they don't intend on spending money hand over fist to compete in the AL East.

Though, with the failing American dollar, give it a few years and watch guys clamor to get north of the border to cash in after their free agent year.

(Image from: CBC.ca)

Canada shows A-Rod the love

Fresh off the Ballhype wires is a story from Toronto, where the team was apologizing to the Yankees for a ballpark stunt gone digitally awry.

Between innings, the team plays video of a video game played between two random fans, where they were throwing at Alex Rodriguez's head, eventually beaning the Yankee star.

Joe Torre wasn't amused and the Jays have promised to police the game a bit better in the future.

Call me crazy, but if this is what gets Blue Jay fans through the end of a tough season, just let them be. For that kind of money, he can take a virtual beanball every now and again.

Besides, the worst slam of the evening reportedly came from a sign posted by fans over the out of town scoreboard that said simply, "A-Rod: We hate you."

And they're Canadian - they like everybody. They're the Mikey of international politics.

(Image from the Associated Press)

Week's end wrap up

I was really excited Thursday morning after a big night of moves in the hot stove league. Better yet was Steve Phillips chasing Barry Bonds around like Carl Monday, asking who he was talking to, if he was staying with the Giants and if he was jacking it.

Bonds told him his testicles were too far gone to even consider the last option. Not really, but in the television of my mind it was awesome.

The biggest, but least shocking moves were today, with Andy Pettitte going back to the Bronx and bringing rumors of a return of Roger Clemens with him. Bonds is also returning to San Francisco where he'll be hated the least.

Other big moves:

Jason Schmidt - Dodgers - Headed to the Dodgers, the biggest free agent arm (tied with Barry Zito this year) undercuts the Giants and helps Los Angeles which has a much better rotation on paper now (Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Schmidt, Randy Wolf and any number of arms looking to take over the five spot.)

Being able to beef up your team while draining a division rival is a nice bonus, but these moves put the Dodgers as the early favorites in the NL West next year.

To his credit, Drew has defended himself a bit to the media, but given that it's Boston, this could get ugly in a big way. We'll see what happens, but this could be a train wreck right out of the gates.

Seriously, you can't trust LA, but who else is going to step up? In other words, business as usual in the NL West.

JD Drew and Julio Lugo - Red Sox - Here's what worries me. Five words in 20 years: The Curse of Johnny Damon. Expect JD Drew to get a lot of face time with Joe Buck's kid and AJ Pierzinski if this becomes a story line of my future nightmares.

Bad attitude and injury prone? Where do I sign?

To his credit, he's defended himself to a point, but it's still Boston and it's not out of the realm of possibility that this could be a train wreck out of the gates.

As much as I'm skeptical of Drew, I like the Lugo signing.

Not as much as I'd like Damon and Orlando Cabrera, but still...

(The best part of the Cabrera Era was screaming, "Welcome to the O.C., bitch!" every night.

Ted Lilly - Cubs - Please, oh please can we get at least a half-powered Bronson Arroyo factor here?

He was 15-13 with a 4.31 ERA in 32 games for the Blue Jays last season.

I can't lie, I was awake after I turned off the TV the other night asking over and again if Ted Lilly was worth $10 million per year. My gut reaction is no.

Hope it's worth hospitalizing a GM over, but this deal isn't as exciting as it should have been. Yes, Cubs front office, we get it, you're trying to win now. There's still no need to try and spend 15 years worth of surplus cash in one mediocre off-season for talent.

Mike Piazza - A's - It's about time, huh? Maybe they'll give him Frank Thomas' old locker.

Freddy Garcia - Phillies - I'm with Frankie on this one who sent me an e-mail when this signing was confirmed. In an off-season where Lilly gets $10 million per, the White Sox give away a very, very durable pitcher for peanuts?

I thought this would be a move to bring Aaron Rowland back, but was surprised when he was left out east.

Still waiting to get word back on whether or not Kenny Williams is still a genius. That said, I'm getting a Billy Beane vibe off Willaims still where no matter how ridiculous the signing or free agent drop is, you can't help but wonder what he's up to.

This is a direct turn around from the Williams we were given in Moneyball where he was emasculated and painted as too dumb to grasp the finer points of a simple multi-player swap.

More from Frankie on this subject can be found here.

Joe Borowski - Indians - This guy keeps finding work and he always seemed like a good enough guy, but I can't help but wonder how he keeps signing contracts.

He's never very good, but never very bad, either. I think this is indicative of the season Cleveland can expect next year.

Gil Meche - Royals - Good for you, Royals!

Aren't they cute everyone? Yes, they are! Yes, they are!

Cute little ballclub you got there, KC...

For more of the same, jump over to ESPN.com where Jayson Stark has a similar breakdown, but with, you know... facts and stuff.

Haven't we been over this before?

Mike Piazza is on the market again and it looks like his agency (I wonder if it's still the Beverly Hills group) might get it right this time.

As I pleaded last spring (and in between taking pot shots at his representation on the sister site - bonus points for being the very first baseball post at either site).

While aging pitchers now flock to the NL for the Bronson Arroyo treatment (I know he's not old, but his was the biggest turn-around last season from a simple league switch) sluggers will continue to take DH jobs to tack a few years onto their careers.

Why this hasn't happened with Piazza yet is well beyond me. Now, looking to fill the gap left by Frank Thomas' departure to Canada, it sounds like they're the front-runners to sign Piazza this off-season.

Please, oh please, do not let this man continue to catch. Granted, the Padres were more than happy to bump Doug Mirabelli out of the top slot in Spring Training in favor of an everyday catcher in Piazza, but let's hope Jason Kendall will stick around to keep his starting spot.

Just for old times' sake:

I thought the whole damned point was to get him a slot in the AL where he can DH and and catch every few days to spell the everyday catcher...There are only a handful of AL teams that don't have a great DH and a deep enough catching bench. In an era where Sammy and Corey are shopped in back-to-back years, Kevin Millar signs for a million plus for one year, Furcal breaks the bank (I could go on and on here) Mike Fucking Piazza isn't enough of a draw (if not so much a bat anymore and I contend that his numbers will get better when he's not squatting on Jake Taylor's knees) to maybe check in with the Beverly Hills Sports Council? Or maybe they can't make a few calls?

Yeah, that was me. I'm going to stand by that.