• Last-place Jays fire Gibbons, re-hire Gaston by Ken Rosenthal

• Blue Jays fire Gibbons, bring back Cito Gaston @ ESPN

• Blue Jays Fire John Gibbons @ MLB Trade Rumors (check out the discussion in the comments)

Will Gaston be suited up for this weekend's series in Pittsburgh?

The biggest story of the day was the release of Frank Thomas by the Blue Jays. Thomas was informed yesterday of reduced playing time due to his recent slump. However, Thomas has started the past two years in a similar weak fashion, but managed to turn it around and put up great numbers in 2006 and 2007. Something else was up and Frank was not pleased…

A key to understanding what lies in Thomas' contract, which included plate incentives: 304 more plate appearances would have guaranteed him a $10 million option for 2009, money that the Jays are now free to spend elsewhere next season.

Thomas was vocal about his displeasure at being benched, saying "My career is not going to end this way." Wisely avoiding distraction that could derail the Jays right now, GM J.P. Ricciardi met with Thomas this morning and the result was an unconditional release.

Some feel this now paves the way for the Jays to sign Barry Bonds, but I'm hoping this isn't the case. I think Matt Stairs can do a fine job as the new DH and this makes room to bring back Adam Lind from the minors, who needs playing time to develop into an everyday major leaguer (and who's sporting a hot .360 BA right now!)

Back to the diamond, there were some awesome games played today, with at least three players hitting two home runs:

• Hanley Ramirez sparkled defensively and led the Marlins to victory over the Nationals with his two homers.
• The Reds' Edwin Encarnacion made up for a fielding error with two homers, and Ken Griffey Jr. was the game hero, driving in the winning run in a dramatic 10th inning victory over the Brewers. 
• Chase Utley led the Phillies past the Mets with his two homers in a fantastic game that closed out this great day of Sunday baseball.
  

I also really enjoyed the Padres/D-backs game, but I missed the last 3 innings. Did Byrnes keep that 14-game hitting streak going, or is he shaving that mustache tonight?

(By the way, I love those old baby blue Jays uniforms like the one Frank is sporting above, but the award for best retro uniform is a tie between the Padres and Astros!)

For the fourth year in a row, my friend Mel and I have made team picks for our friendly annual MLB bet. Don't ask about how our betting system works–it's completely customized, unlike any normal betting arrangement, and we sometimes make up rules as the season goes on. Think calvinball and you pretty much have it. Something else that's important to keep in mind is that neither of us pick our teams based solely on the numbers. In fact, I'd say that we're both guided primarily by our hearts and a loyalty to teams that we've always rooted for. Without further ado, I present my 2007 MLB picks along with some of the reasons behind my choices:

1. Toronto Blue Jays
   I'm a canuck so I always try to get them in my pool. Most people are predicting a 3rd place finish for the Jays, but I'm going to have some faith and say that they'll finish second.
2. San Diego Padres
   The Friars have great pitching again this year, and a little more pop at the plate over last season's squad. They've lost Barfield and Roberts, but picked up a potential ROY in Kevin Kouzmanoff.
3. Cleveland Indians
   The AL central should be a great race to watch. The Tigers, White Sox, Indians and Twins all have a good chance at snagging a post-season berth. While I think the Indians have the weakest pitching staff of these four teams, I also expect Travis Hafner and his mates to put up some big numbers at the plate.
4. Milwaulkee Brewers
   I picked the Brewers for the first time last season and really enjoyed rooting for them. This year, they look even better so I snagged them in my pool in the 4th round of the draft.  Plenty of folks are predicting that the Brewers will take the NL Central this year, which would be incredibly exciting for both the team and baseball fans everywhere. It will be a tough race, but these young Brewers have a chance for the first time in years.
5. Philadelphia Phillies
   I switched to the Mets last season and missed rooting for Jimmy Rollins and the Phils. These guys have power and pitching, but also had a rough spring training. If they can stay healthy, and if young guns like Cole Hamels can make the successful transition to being full time major leaguers, the Phils should be in the thick of it all season long.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
   They're lacking a big power bat, but they have many of the other pieces in place to become a winner this year. As I have an interview with catcher Russell Martin in the works right now, I simply couldn't let Mel get the Dodgers in his pool this time around!
7. Houston Astros
   Most predictions have the 'stros finishing near the bottom of the division in 2007. However, I like the broadcasters, and love singing "Deep In the Heart of Texas" at the 7th inning stretch, so I had to pick them again this year.
8. New York Mets
   This was the hardest pick I had to make. The Mets are heavily favored to grab the NL East title, but since our betting rules force us to pick just 2 teams per division, I had to make the choice between the Mets and my lowly Nationals. Being from Montreal originally, I have always had the Expos or Nationals in my pool–it's simply a matter of loyalty. This year though, I didn't pick with my heart. I figured there was no chance that Mel would pick the Nationals (and I was almost wrong on that one) and this would allow me to pick a team that would give me more points yet still root for the Nationals from the sidelines. You can count on me to follow the team closely in what should be a pretty long summer for the guys. (On a sidenote, Dontrelle Willis is just about the only person in the world right now giving the Nats some respect.)
9. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
   Solid pitching and big bats. Just keep an eye on Oakland in the rear view mirror!
10. Seattle Mariners
    Another loyalty pick as I live in the Northwest. I'll be surprised if they manage to keep Ichiro, though I still think they'll turn out a better campaign that last season.
11. Boston Red Sox
    Knowing Mel's affinity for the Yankees, I left this pick almost to the end. Manny and David-O are on the decline, though I still expect the Red Sox and Dice-K (stupid nickname!) to make the AL East interesting.
12. Minnesota Twins
    Mel snagged the Tigers and White Sox from under me this year and dumped his Twins for the first time. While I like rooting for Detroit, I'm not at all disappointed in getting the Twins in my 2007 pool. Liriano's out, but the Twins still have 2007 Cy Young hopeful Johan Santana and the big bats of Joe Mauer and fellow canuck Justin Morneau to get them to the post season.

So, there we have it. I feel a little dirty for dumping my Nationals, and I surprised myself by making so many NL picks in the early rounds, but I'm happy with my pool and I look forward to counting up my winnings at the end of each month. Mel hasn't beat me yet, and I don't plan on conceding victory this year either!

Hitting 

While the Jays had one of the strongest hitting squads last season in all of baseball they still managed to limp in at next-to-last in the AL for cashing in runners from scoring position. This is about more than bad luck, as Campigotto would have us believe. Sure our mashers can hit, but the team needs to focus on the small ball game: smart base running, bunting, getting those butts across the plate. It's this approach that transformed the 2005 Chicago White Sox from a "gorilla ball" team to a World Series Champ'. The departures of catcher Bengie Molina and the dependable Frank Catalanotto should be easy to bear provided that the newly acquired DH Frank Thomas manages to stay healthy. I am looking forward to watching the Big Hurt as a Jay!

Pitching

Despite the big catch signings of A.J. and B.J. last year, pitching has remained a question mark for the Jays, with the only truly dependable starting pitcher being the work horse, Roy Halladay. However, if 1) A.J. and Gustavo Chacin can live up to expectations; 2) Josh Towers can shake his erraticism and emerge as a dependable starter; 3) new signings Tomo Okha, John Thompson and Victor Zambrano can lock up the back end of the rotation with some wins, the Jays could have a decent rotation capable of supporting a run at the post-season.

Relief pitching is probably an even larger issue for the Jays, with the departure of Justin Speir who anchored the bullpen with a 2.98 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 51 innings last year. Promising youngster Brandon League will get a long look, but if that doesn't work out the Jays will have to turn to an unproven staff consisting of Jason Frasor, Brian Tallet, Scott Downs and Davis Romero.

Defense

The biggest hole in the Jays defense is the middle infield. Russ Adams won't be seen at SS this year as he will spend some time at Triple-A trying out his hand at manning 3B. That's a couple of handfuls of errors that we will be happy to keep off the books. However, his replacements provide only a mediocre improvement.

New Jay Royce Clayton is a league average defender with a fairly weak bat, though he can come through with some clutch hits and might inspire the team to steal more bases. Despite the loud complaints from the peanut gallery when J.P's acquisition was announced last fall, Clayton has managed to stay in the majors and contribute in his own small way to his teams' efforts. He's not "the answer" for the Jays problems up the middle, but he could prove to be a good patch solution.

Platooning with Clayton will be John MacDonald, who has earned a reputation for flashy plays and the knickname of "The Prime Minister of Defense". However, he still possesses a meager .960 fielding percentage and isn't a consistently strong hitter.

Neither Clayton or MacDonald are the shortstops of the future for the Jays, and J.P. should probably consider a mid-season acquisition to get their defense Word Series-ready.

Aaron Hill will be back at 2B and should be able to provide league average defense.

Elsewhere around the diamond the Jays are strong, with solid corner defense with Glaus and Overbay, the dependable catching of Gregg Zaun, and an outfield stocked with Wells, Rios and Johnson.

The Final Word 

Personally, I think the Jays will do better than Campigotto's prediction: a second place finish with a 93-69 record. Boston is on the decline, and the Jays have enough power to overcome some of their shortcomings. The season's outcome will depend on the Jays' pitchers to get serious, stay healthy and generate a lot of fly balls for the sturdy outfield to handle. Meanwhile, the mashers need to keep mashing, but also need to be thinking more about manufacturing runs.

Lastly, the team's coaching staff needs to cultivate a positive winning attitude on and off the field in their players. The Jays had big hopes last season that were dashed by injuries, resulting in a debilitating frustration in the club house that eventually boiled over in embarressing exchanges between manager John Gibbons and Shea Hillenbrand, and Gibbons and Ted Lilly. These kinds of events very negatively influence a team's mental attitude. The guys need to harness a playing style that is both relaxed and confident in order to win.

The tools are there for the Jays to put to use in 2007. I've said it before and I'll say it again: winning is all about mojo. On that note, here are some musical suggestions for the guys' pre-game iPod sessions:

• "CAUTION (Do Not Stop On Tracks)" by The Grateful Dead
• "Come Together" by The Beatles
• "Keep Your Hand Off Of My Mojo" by Coot Grant and Kid Sox Wesley Wilson
• "Mojo Pin" by Jeff Buckley
• "I Got My Mojo Working" by Muddy Waters

• Mets
• Cubs 
• Yankees
• Indians
• Twins
• Rangers

He singles out the following players as impact batters:

• Beltran, Delgado, Alou, Wright, Green, Lo Duca, Valentine and Reyes
• Soriano, A. Ramirez, D. Lee
• Jeter, A. Rodriguez, Matsui, Giambi, Abreu
• Barfield, Dellucci, T. Nixon, Hafner, Sizemore
• Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer, Hunter, Punto
• M. Young, Teixeira, Blalock, Sosa

It still feels weird to type Abreu's name in a Yankees list, and no one is certain if Sammy Sosa will even make the Rangers roster, but neither of these points cause me any surprise. The big ommission from this list? The Toronto Blue Jays!

The Jays had one of the most potent batting orders in all of baseball last season, and there's no reason to think that effort can't be duplicated in 2007.

Wells, Glaus, Overbay, Rios and Zaun make up the nucleus. Reed Johnson could also turn out a strong season at the plate. And let's not forget Frank Thomas! The team's weakness is up the middle: Royce Clayton and Aaron Hill. Even so, they don't take anything away from the strength of the rest of the order and they both have the capability to manage some clutch hits.

Seriously, how did Shea manage to overlook the Jays in this assessment?

I was disappointed that Joe Girardi pulled himself out of the running for the vacant managerial position with the Nats. I felt that his young age and fresh but tough managerial style would be the perfect fit for Washington's young team. After Piniella went to the Cubs, I was not impressed to hear that the Nationals were planning to interview Dusty Baker. Both Tony Pena and Terry Pendleton pulled themselves out of the running, and a few other unfamiliar names were added to the list of candidates. The situation was looking grim, until Manny Acta emerged as a potential candidate.

Acta's familiarity with the club will certainly be a strong asset, as will his easy-going yet direct coaching style. While he's never managed beyond A-ball, Acta has served as an infield coach with the Expos and more recently, the Mets. He drew praise last spring as manager of the Dominican team in the inaugural WBC for juggling a bench full of stars who seemed to have more fun than any other team. I can't remember where I read this now, but Acta is considered one of the brightest young minds in baseball.

John Patterson and Felipe Lopez are looking forward to working with Acta. As a Nationals fan, I'm excited too now that we now have a skipper who I think can shape the team's young squad into an efficient and productive baseball machine. With the managerial uncertainty behind us, it's time to look ahead and plan for a big 2007 season!

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, not only because the Padres indicated that their search would not include former MLB managers, but also because Baker has suffered a significant tarnishing of his reputation at the hands of frustrated Cubs fans in the past few years. I haven't followed the Cubs closely enough to know is this is deserved, but regardless, San Diego would be taking on a serious marketing liability by hiring Baker. In this light, the only way that Baker can be brought on board is if San Diego's brass can convince Padres' fans that the Dusty era doesn't imply defeat by default.

Let's not discount Dusty's achievements: he has 3 NL Manager of the Year awards, and he got the Giants to the 2002 WS and the 2003 Cubs into the postseason. And don't forget that in 2003, Cubs fans were wearing "In Dusty We Trusty!" t-shirts. (How fickle the love of the public is.)

However, I think hiring Baker will send the wrong message out to the Padres' faithful. While the team came apart at the seams in the divisional series, 2006 was a good season, and fans want to see this success built upon to create a stronger 2007 campaign. Is hiring a manager who barely escaped the wrath of Chicago fans a move in this direction?

Padres GM Kevin Towers recently commented, "I think ultimately what the fans want is a winning organization and someone who can win year in and year out…" The question is, can Dusty Baker win year in and year out in southern California?

The Cubbies snagged Piniella. That leaves us with Manny Acta, Terry Pendleton, Tony Pena, and [cough] Dusty Baker. Acta's the only one with any familiarity with the organization, having been a third base coach for the Expos. The managerial search has been secretive so there could be other candidates in the running that we simply aren't aware of. (But really, what gets past the baseball blogosphere?)

UPDATE: Terry Pendleton bows out