Anthopoulos Makes First Moves:

[-MetA4-]

The TORONTO BLUE JAYS have made the following changes to their Player Development Department which will operate under the direction of TONY LaCAVA; CHARLIE WILSON has been appointed Director of Minor League Operations and DOUG DAVIS has been appointed Minor League Field Coordinator while DICK SCOTT and MIKE BASSO have been relieved of their duties.

The TORONTO BLUE JAYS have made the following changes to their scouting department; ANDREW TINNISH has been appointed Director of Amateur Scouting, PERRY MINASIAN has been appointed Director of Professional Scouting, JON LALONDE has been named Professional Scout and ROB DUCEY has been relieved of his duties.

[Schad]

So Lelonde gets demoted and pushed away from what he does best, and LaCava gets...something. Not particularly fond of these moves.

[-MetA4-]

So Lelonde gets demoted and pushed away from what he does best, and LaCava gets...something. Not particularly fond of these moves.

I'm not great with all the titles so I haven't yet fully put together what all the moves mean, but yeah, it does appear that Lalonde was demoted while Tinnish (who was Assistant Scouting Director?) was promoted.

The LaCava move is hard to gage in terms of whether he moved up or down. His previous title (Director of Player Personnel) was VERY wide-scoped in the sense that he really "helped" with almost every side of management; from helping JP(big league) to helping Lalonde(scouting) to helping Scott(minor league). He has replaced Dick Scott so his role now appears (at least on the surface) to be much more set.

[-MetA4-]

Scott was a big JP guy BTW so its not that surprising that he was let go, although it must have been awkward for him because he did a minor-league breakdown with BattersBox just a few days ago (the interview was released yesterday).

I will give Anthopoulos the benefit of the doubt here because realistically he's been working with all these people for years and should know their performance inside and out. The Lalonde move is kind of a head scratcher, but realistically no one knows how instrumental Tinnish was.

[Mike Hunt]

I don't think making someone a professional scout is a demotion. Draft vs Trades/FAs. I think it's pretty even or even an upgrade. I see it more like a lateral move..

[Hoopstarr]

I don't know what any of those titles mean, but does it really even matter if the organization won't pay up when it comes to signing draft picks and scouting internationally? Sign someone like Aroldis Chapman, then I'll be impressed.

[Schad]

Yeah, I assume the LaCava thing is some sort of demotion just because he has gone from being involved in all facets of the management side to being the development guy...it might not be a demotion in terms of his responsibilities, but he might view it as such because it probably doesn't look as compelling on a resume as "shadow GM".

[-MetA4-]

From Wilner:

The other big change took place in amateur scouting, where Hamiltonian Andrew Tinnish takes over as the scouting director from Jon Lalonde, who moves to pro scouting. Tinnish has moved through the scouting department since joining the team back in 2001, and had been Lalonde’s top assistant the last three seasons. Jack Armstrong will like him, since he used to pitch for Niagara College.

Anthopoulos is really, really high on Tinnish, and though it sounds as though this move is a demotion for Lalonde, it really seems to be more of a lateral move. The Jays will be placing a much larger emphasis on pro scouting, which would indicate that in the future they’re planning to be far more active in the trade and free agent markets. Lalonde will be a big part of that, though Perry Minasian (who came to the Jays last year from the Rangers - I’ve never met him) will head up that department.

[LieCheatSteal]

All these guys they seem to be putting in key positions are pretty young guys. I guess they're trying a fresh approach.

However, for some reason, I'm thinking this is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[Schad]

I'm also curious what the future of Beeston's rather disastrous "target Canadians" ploy...I've read in a few places that he wants the team to try and draft/sign Canadians, believing they would be more likely to stay with the team.

I'm hoping that the draft debacle, where he couldn't convince either Canadian to sign, will lead to a change in heart in the organization, but Anthopolous is viewed as a Beeston loyalist, so who knows.

[Schad]

I do love this, though:

“One of the things we need to focus on is trying to have an advantage with our employees,” Anthopoulos said on a conference call from the team's spring base in Dunedin, Fla. “Instead of trying to go toe-to-toe and dollar-for-dollar in terms of player acquisition and so on — and I think one day we may be able to do that with the fan base here and the upside of the market — where we stand today, let's go toe-to-toe with staffing, let's go toe-to-toe in terms of employees.

“If we can get the best scouts, the best player development people that can come in here, the results from the players side that we're going to see from a development and talent aquisition standpoint, whether it's trade or drafting, should lead to great results up in Toronto.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/b ... le1319372/


That's precisely what we need to be doing...spending money on the minor league system, both in the draft and ensuring that, once drafted, the kids have actual help. Given how poorly our hitters have developed, firing virtually all of the minor league hitting instructors gets a thumbs-up from me; now they just have to follow through and get some worthy replacements.

[-MetA4-]

"The Blue Jays will hire Nationals scouting director Dana Brown as a special assistant to new GM Alex Anthopoulos, according to Bob Elliot of The Toronto Sun."

[Schad]

"The Blue Jays will hire Nationals scouting director Dana Brown as a special assistant to new GM Alex Anthopoulos, according to Bob Elliot of The Toronto Sun."

Yeah, I read that on DJF.

Pros of hiring a guy who worked in the Nats scouting department: really good eye when it comes to players with the last name Zimmerman(n).

Cons: basically everything else they have done prior to the 2009 draft. Despite all those high picks they entered this year with only three players that Sickels rated B or higher: Jordan Zimmermann (B+), who looked pretty good prior to TJ surgery; Michael Burgess (B+), who hit with power but didn't live up to expectations; and Chris Marrero (B) who looks pretty good. They've gotten some potential value out of their first rounders pre-Strasburg, but not much beyond that.

No clue whether the bulk of the blame should fall on the scouts or the development people, but I can think of other organizations I'd rather raid for talent.

[spykelee]

"The Blue Jays will hire Nationals scouting director Dana Brown as a special assistant to new GM Alex Anthopoulos, according to Bob Elliot of The Toronto Sun."

Yeah, I read that on DJF.

Pros of hiring a guy who worked in the Nats scouting department: really good eye when it comes to players with the last name Zimmerman(n).

Cons: basically everything else they have done prior to the 2009 draft. Despite all those high picks they entered this year with only three players that Sickels rated B or higher: Jordan Zimmermann (B+), who looked pretty good prior to TJ surgery; Michael Burgess (B+), who hit with power but didn't live up to expectations; and Chris Marrero (B) who looks pretty good. They've gotten some potential value out of their first rounders pre-Strasburg, but not much beyond that.

No clue whether the bulk of the blame should fall on the scouts or the development people, but I can think of other organizations I'd rather raid for talent.

But Schad before he got to the nationals/expos, he was a scout for the pirates... Just imagine if we could one day become like those teams... yea if... **sigh**