Stuff: Lind, Johnson

What a day.  Don't work in a computer store on Black Friday if you like taking lunch breaks.

Anyhoo... Adam Lind was on Jeff Blair's radio show today, and I think he accidentally took a shit on Ricky Romero.  Basically, he said that the trade that the Jays just made should take a load off of Ricky, because he's just not a "leader"-type of guy.  I get what he's saying, but he probably could have chosen his words better.  He's totally in to the idea of having Mark Buehrle around, for veteran leadership reasons.  Meh.

Josh Johnson and his agent are both apparently cool with the idea of signing a contract extension, despite never playing a game in a Jays' uniform.  I expect AA to have a look at it, but ultimately, he'll probably have to pitch the first month of the season (minimum) and show that he can return to his pre-2012 form, not to mention get the velocity back up.  He'll be arguably the best free agent starter on the market next year, if he gets that far.

AA says that the trade took 5-6 days to come together, in an interview with WEII, which is a Boston radio station or something. He believes that keeping the discussions quiet was really important to getting the deal done.   Audio of the interview as well.

Brian Butterfield was apparently very close to being the next manager, but ultimately, he didn't have any MLB-managerial experience, which was somewhat of a deal-breaker for AA.

Fangraphs has a talk with Bruce Walton, (former?) Blue Jays pitching coach.  Pappy!

NY writer Joel Sherman suggests that the Jays are a fit for RA Dickey, if they don't happen to extend him.  Quantrill's Quandries explores that one.

Finally, with a hat tip to James_in_TO, Bodog has the Jays at 11/1 to win the world series this year, tied with the Yankees, and behind only the Tigers and the Nats.  Don't you even fucking dare taking that bet, by the way, because there's no way that they're going to stay at that price.  If you're going to bet on the Jays, wait until the Red Sox and Yankees make some kind of splash in free agency or on the trade market.  That, or when the Jays sign Brandon McCarthy, make the bet before Bodog puts the odds down.

My bets: Arizona at 40/1 is a nice price, considering their pitching depth, and Tampa at 25/1 is always fun.  Atlanta at 16/1 is probably almost worth it, and depending on what the market for Zack Greinke looks like, the Angels and Dodgers at 12/1 looks mighty fine, since one of them is most likely to sign him.