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Friday, April 6th / 2001
| Site shutting down (3:40PM EST) by: Jay Kowalenko |
Hello Blue Jays fans. This is the webmaster of this site speaking, I've made the though decision to stop working on the site. The main reasons are that I do not get enough hits and I have another site that I work on a lot and it gets a huge amount of hits, Unlike this site. It's just too hard to update 2 sites every day. Also I would of had to renew the domain name and quite frankly I don't want to pay. The site is not going to be shut down really it will just not be updated anymore. Feel free to look at all my pictures and everything else. The best place for updates is MLB and the best place for current photos is the Yahoo Blue Jays Page. My URL will no longer be cyberbluejays.com it will go back to it's regular name of http://www.torontobaseball.tripod.com so please reset your links and bookmarks.
It was fun updating this page. I remember this was one of the best out there when I was updating it daily. That's a tip for all you webmasters out there. Keep it fresh. Another thing, my e-mail will not be @cyberbluejays.com if you want to e-mail me please click here. Maybe someday I will decide to update and revamp the site again. Once again everyone, It was a lot of fun doing this, thanks to all the people that linked me and also signed my guestbook Etc... This is Jay Kowalenko signing off.
Friday, February 9th / 2001
| Sirotka done for the year! (7:40PM EST) by: Jay Kowalenko |
TORONTO -- Mike Sirotka, acquired by Toronto from the Chicago White Sox last month, has a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder and could miss the entire season.
Sirotka will be examined Tuesday by Dr. James Andrews before a final decision is made on how to repair the labrum, the edge of a structure in the shoulder joint.
Toronto acquired Sirotka on Jan. 14 as part of a six-player trade that sent David Wells to Chicago. While it is unlikely the trade would be rescinded, the Blue Jays could try to seek compensation from the White Sox.
Sirotka admitted after the trade that he had shoulder stiffness.
He was examined on Jan. 19 in Florida by Dr. Steve Mirabello, who found a tight capsule in the shoulder but no instability. An MRI confirmed the diagnosis, and Mirablello recommended stretching and rehab.
But when Sirotka visited Toronto this week, he was examined by Dr. Tony Miniaci, and an MRI taken at a different angle showed a complete tear of the labrum.
Sirotka, 15-10 with a 3.79 ERA with Chicago, hyperextended his left elbow during his final regular-season start last season. While pitching for major league All-Stars in the postseason tour of Japan, he favored the elbow and strained the shoulder.
In the deal with Chicago, the Blue Jays also acquired pitchers Kevin Beirne and Mike Williams, and outfielder Brian Simmons for Wells and pitcher Matt DeWitt.
Sirotka had been expected to head a starting rotation that includes Chris Carpenter, Esteban Loaiza and Steve Parris.
Joey Hamilton, Roy Halladay, Jason Dickson and Jaime Navarro also will be competing for a spot in the rotation when spring training starts next week.
Toronto turned down an offer by the New York Mets for Wells, a deal that reportedly would have included left-hander Glendon Rusch.
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| Well Tradded to the White Sox (9:00PM EST) by: Jay Kowalenko |
CHICAGO -- David Wells, a 20-game winner who recently ripped Toronto's front office and fans, was traded by the Blue Jays to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player deal Sunday.
The AL Central champion White Sox sent pitchers Mike Sirotka, Kevin Beirne and Mike Williams and outfielder Brian Simmons to Toronto for Wells and pitcher Matt DeWitt.
"Certainly David Wells will be missed," Blue Jays general manager Gord Ash said. "He was an important guy for us, but it's time for him to move on."
Wells, 37, is 161-107 in a 14-year career and the White Sox will be his sixth team. He was 20-8 last season with a league-best nine complete games in 35 starts and has averaged 16 victories over the last six years.
Wells has been at his best in the postseason with an 8-1 record in 19 games.
"We had the opportunity to acquire one of the premier left-handers in the league over the last decade," new White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said.
Earlier this month, Wells criticized the Blue Jays' organization was not doing enough to win. He also said the Blue Jays' fans "stink." "They are terrible," he said before leaving for his honeymoon in New Zealand.
Said Ash: "This last time when he was critical of our fans, I don't think it was called for. It did not play a role in this transaction. It was a baseball transaction, first and foremost."
There had been speculation that Wells might wind up back in New York, this time with the Mets in a deal, possibly for outfielder Jay Payton and pitcher Glendon Rusch.
"We had multiple discussions with the Blue Jays, but I guess they felt they were able to fill more holes with the trade they made with the White Sox than with the trade they made with us," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said.
"Sure, I'm a little disappointed but I'm not discouraged. I like our team a lot and I think we have a great chance to get back to the postseason again," he said. Ash said it was difficult to choose between the potential deals.
"We had a White Sox package and Mets package, and the overwhelming feeling among our baseball group was that the White Sox package presented us players who could make an impact on the present and the future," he said. "The Mets was more skewed to the future. We felt we needed to go this way."
Sirotka went 15-10 last season for Chicago. He is 45-42 overall in 125 major league games.
Wells, known for his girth, personality and love of a good time, is signed through the 2001 season.
Nicknamed "Boomer," the outspoken and popular pitcher worked 229 2-3 innings last season and allowed an AL-low 1.2 walks per nine innings.
Wells pitched a perfect game for the Yankees on May 17, 1998, against Minnesota. He helped lead the Yankees to the World Series championship later that season, but then was traded to Toronto for Roger Clemens in a deal during 1999 spring training.
Wells also has pitched for Detroit, Baltimore and Cincinnati.
Sirotka, 29, made 32 starts last season and was considered the White Sox ace as they made the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
"It was extremely tough to depart with a quality pitcher and person like Mike Sirotka," Williams said after making his first major trade.
DeWitt, 23, was 1-0 in eight outings for the Blue Jays last season. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Syracuse, where he was 4-5 record.
Beirne, 27, was mainly a reliever for the White Sox. He was 1-3 with a 6.70 ERA in 29 games. Simmons, 27, missed the entire season after rupturing his Achilles' tendon in Spring Training. Williams, 22, was 3-4 at Class A Winston-Salem.
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David Wells Comments (1:00PM EST) by: Jay Kowalenko
It seems like Boomer Wells just said a few nasty things about Toronto Fans:
"The fans here stink"
"Were in a pennant race and there's 12 000 fans"
"There were more Yankee fans then Jays fans"
"The fans are terrable"
"The team doesn't want to win"
| Well now you listen to me you fat piece of crap, You don't know what the hell your talking about! If it wasn't for your bad second half of the season we might of made the playoffs. And for the record tubby the lowest croud to the skydome this season was 17 000 or so so get your damn facts strait. Also when your referring to the "terrable fans" are they the same "terrable fans" that were cheering their ass of when you won your 20th game of the season huh? I personally think we should get rid of his fat, over the hill ass and send him to the Mets and let them put up with his crap. Plus we need some pitching too. |