Normally I would delve into each team, look at the strengths and weaknesses of each team, and look at which team has the best package to win it all. But in this case, as a Patriots fan, I am forced to go against Brady’s biggest rival – Peyton Manning – and hope that the Saints can pull it off. I know for a fact that New Orleans has enough offense to get’er done, and that the city deserves a good boost. Making it to the Superbowl should normally be enough, but for a city hit as hard as New Orleans has been in recent years, they need to and deserve to win it all.

My other picks for the game:

• Final Score: Saints 34, Colts 24
• Superbowl MVP: Darren Sharper
• Best RB of the game: Pierre Thomas
• Best WR of the game: Marques Colston
• Best TE of the game: Dallas Clark
• Most sacks: Indianapolis
• Interceptions: New Orleans (2) both by Darren Sharper
• Fumbles: Indianapolis 2, New Orleans 2

I think that’s enough predictions. Not sure who’ll win the coin toss and I’m sure 3/4 of the list above, if not all of it, will be wrong. But hey, that’s the fun of the bowl now, isn’t it? I just hope the Saints come out on top and that Brees shows up Manning, after that it’s all gravy baby!!

Now, off to get the beer and snacks ready for the 50 inch HDTV experience we all deserve!

Here are some quick links to Jays topics and news around the blogging sphere:

• Drunk Jays Fan has an excellent article surrounding the new turf at Rogers Center.
• Mop Up Duty covers Cuban 3B Yulieski Gourriel and added some Jose Ruiz coverage.
• Bluebird Banter takes a peak at the 1B situation in Toronto.
• The Tao of Stieb takes a great look at “The Franchise”, also known as Travis Snider, calling him “the future”.
• The Blue Jays Hunter confirms my belief that Cito Gaston needs to keep a little more quiet.
• Ghostrunner on First takes a look at what he calls “The Aaron Hill Dilemma“
• MLBastien looks at Dustin McGowan and the state of the franchise.

As for other news closely related to the Jays:

• Dirk Hayhurst is scheduled for surgery and is expected to miss the majority of 2010.
• Any of us who hoped the Jays may take a chance on Erik Bedard can scratch him off our list since he signed a 1-yr deal with Seattle with a mutual option for 2011.
• Either the Jays or Johnny Damon, or both, may not be all that enthused about the aging outfielder playing in Toronto in 2010. After the Jays kicked the tires with him and his agent, everything changed to focus on Detroit or Atlanta acquiring him. The Rays have also been added to his list of suitors, which tells us that he’s both desperate to sign and wants to do so on a contender if possible. You can see it as either a loss or a gain, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be in Toronto in 2010.

Seems that the Cubs and Jays are definitely brewing something, as every single Jays or Cubs blog and reporter site I go to has rumors circulating about a possible deal. Cubbies Crib writer Jordan Campbell recently posted about the Cubs interest in Jason Frasor, who is known to have been made available in trade talks by Alex Anthopolous and the Jays.  He mentions Angel Guzman as the pitcher the Jays have the most interest in, and adds Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Marshall as other possibilities. I’m almost certain that if the Jays are getting a SP in return for a RP, there’s more to the trade than just a 1-for-1 deal. The Jays already have so many SP that adding 1 more may cause delirium within the catchers about how many balls they’ll need to catch in spring training.

Now, it is my opinion – and it is just an opinion – that the Jays took Kevin Gregg off the market in hopes of getting a deal done with the Cubs. Bruce Levine of ESPN sort of confirms this outlook by indicating how the signing changed the level of interest the Cubs have in Frasor as a result of the Gregg signing. I also believe they want to make it bigger in scope than the Cubs are comfortable with. Something like a reliever like Frasor or Scott Downs, a starter, and prospect or two, in return for Angel Guzman, either Starlin Castro or Hak-Ju Lee, and something else if the deal needs to be better balanced. The balancing depends on which pitcher the Cubs get in return. If it’s Ricky Romero, the Jays are giving up a lot and will definitely be looking to keep things as simple as possible.

I’m not going to keep going through the scenarios, nor do I think a deal will be made quickly, but the facts point to mutual interest in getting a deal done. The assets seems to be there to make a deal happen, and each team needs what the other team has. I guess it’s just a matter of who blinks first and when each side becomes comfortable with what’s being offered. Having said all that, I doubt that Alex could get his hands on Castro without giving up Romero in the deal, so I’d look for them to be involved if and when a deal happens. Knowing Alex, that should happen pretty soon.

Did anyone announce a pitching famine that the remainder of us are unaware of? If there is one, Alex Anthopolous must have heard it first, because he’s adding arms like there’s no tomorrow. The newest addition to the arsenal is LHP Dana Eveland, 26, who last played for the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks. He stands in at 6′1″ 220 lbs and will only be 27 in October. Here are his stats over the last 2 seasons:

• 2008: 29 GS, 168 IP, 118 Ks, 77 BB, 1 complete game, 4.34 ERA, 1.482 whip
• 2009 in MLB: 9 GS, 44 IP, 22 Ks, 26 BB, 70 hits allowed, a whopping 7.16 ERA and 2.182 whip
• 2009 in AAA: 21 GS, 124 IP, 92 Ks, 51 BB, 133 hits allowed, 4.94 ERA, 1.484 whip

Maybe the Jays know something we don’t know and believe there’s some value to be developed in Eveland, but I haven’t been able to find anything or anyone that can point to his turn around. If anything, he may be hiding an injury due to his progressively worsening play in 2009. We’ll see what the cost ends up being later on and whether he improves in AAA, where I’m guessing he will begin 2010 if he remains with the Jays that long!

Alex Anthopolous may just be the most restless GM in all of MLB right now as he attempts to build something special in Toronto. Although rumors about bringing Carlos Delgado on board were quickly squashed by Alex, he is apparently ready to look into another much younger player at 1B in Cuban Jose Julio Ruiz, as reported by Jorge Arangure.

So who is Jose Ruiz and what could he do for the Jays should he be signed? Well, if you understand spanish you can get some information from this video of the man while in Miami posted at cubanballplayers.blogspot, and the site adds some stats and a small but sloppy description of Ruiz as a gap-to-gap hitter who is under 25.  Another link on the same site goes deeper into the man, with the following stats added in as well:

2008: 429 AB, 126 hits, 83 runs, .341 avg, 21 doubles, 11 HRs, 69 RBI, 44 BB, 49 Ks, 32 stolen bases

2009: (abbreviated stats) .305/.408/.467 in 52 games, hit 15 doubles, 38 RBI, and 5 HRs. He hit .214 against lefties and .338 against righties. To show how well he hits to all fields, the writers list the fact that of his hits, 48 were to LF, 47 were to CF, and 83 were to RF.

His fielding percentage is listed at .990 over his career in Cuba and he is also listed as having played some LF. The authors of this information cover Cuban players constantly, so I would take their opinions fairly well, and they list Ruiz as their 3rd best prospect from Cuba, after Aroldis Chapman and RHP Reinier Roibal. However, I can’t vouch 100% for the information, as I do not know them personally. Still, why would they lie?

Perhaps some of you will want a better source of information. Well, Baseball Reference lists the following about Ruiz:

• He is listed at 6′2″ 194 lbs, and hits from the left side of the plate
• They list his birth date as March 24th 1984, which would make him 26 on opening day
• They add that he never made their national team, but did make the “B” team once
• 2005/2006 stats: .357/.428/.473 with only 2 HRs in 247 ABs
• 2006/20007 stats: .323/.430/.455, while leading the Cuban league with 72 RBIs
• 2007/2008 stats: .341/.423/.492 and they confirm the stats listed above
• He defected to the Dominican Republic and made it to Miami from there

Here are a couple of videos of Jose Julio Ruiz hitting home runs:

• Video 1
• Video 2

Although both videos are low quality, you can tell that he has a quick stroke with lots of loft to his swing.  He also turned on both those pitches which were thrown inside, which shows his quickness.  You can also see how quiet he is before the pitch, with only a small waiving of the bat for timing. I’m not sure how well he would do against MLB pitching, but if his stats translate as well and he progresses anywhere as well as Kendry Morales, he’s definitely worth a shot. In fact, MLBfantasyProspect compares Morales and Ruiz and concludes that while Ruiz would be starting off a more polished hitter than Morales, he has about 60% of the power that Morales has. Essentially, the Jays would be getting a Lyle Overbay type 1B who plays excellent D and hits the gaps well. Perhaps the one upgrade between the two is that he also steals bases (or did so in Cuba), and also could end up hitting for better average overall.

What remains to be seen is what he would cost to sign. Would the Jays be willing to keep Brett Wallace at 3B in order to fit one of Brian Dopirak, Randy Ruiz, Adam Lind, or even Jose Ruiz at 1B? It’s possible. Wallace’s defense is not that bad at 3B, he’s just not the “perfect build” for the position. I’m not sure if the Jays interest in Ruiz is legitimate and whether they’d push very hard for this player, but he is attracting interest quickly and would therefore could be a member of the Jays very soon if a decision to attempt to sign him is made. Chances are he would begin the year in AAA Las Vegas and would allow the Jays to keep David Cooper in AA as a result.

Like the Delgado news, it’s hard to imagine Alex making a move for a 1B with so many on board, but he does seem to be adding as many assets as possible in order to accumulate ammunition for future deals, so it does fit into his overall strategy. I guess we’ll find out soon enough! More to follow as the story develops!

For anyone looking for more Jays news, and up-to-date MLB info, catch it all at hotstove.com