But What Do I Know? … Alex Anthopoulos, Dennis Lamp, Shawn Hill

My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories:

 Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos indicated this week that free-agent-to-be John Buck saw the bulk of playing time at catcher for the club last September because he gave the veteran backstop his word that he would be the regular catcher for the entire season. While it’s admirable that Anthopoulos is a man of his word, this action goes against everything he’s preaching to the fans. If Arencibia is a key to this club’s future, he should’ve been playing in September. Furthermore, if Buck was playing because Anthopoulos gave him his word, then the young GM should’ve spoken up last September when Cito Gaston was being roundly criticized for mismanaging Arencibia. I suppose the moral of this story is to be a man of your word, but be careful whom you give your word to.

 There was a great article in the Los Angeles Times this past weekend about Dennis Lamp, a right-handed reliever who was a remarkable 11-0 on the Blue Jays’ 1985 American League East-winning squad. Lamp now works at a seafood counter in a grocery store in Newport Beach, California, and no, it’s not because he’s bankrupt. He just loves the work. Read the article here: http://is.gd/TYRw34

 I know I’m nitpicking here, but those cushy chairs that the Blue Jays executives sit in at the State of the Franchise events seem elitist. If this event is truly for the fans, why should the executives be more comfortable than the fans?

 If he stays healthy – and that’s a big if – Georgetown, Ont., native Shawn Hill could prove to be a solid, end-of-the-rotation starter or middle reliever for the Florida Marlins in 2011. His four late season starts for the Jays in 2010 were impressive.

 Another reason why I believe the Yankees are vulnerable this year: They missed out on Cliff Lee and then settled for Freddy Garcia.

 You won’t meet a better ambassador for Canadian baseball than Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, so it’s only fitting that the Chatham, Ont., native now has a postage stamp in his honour. He’s currently on 23-city tour across Canada to launch the stamp. Check out his website (http://www.fergiejenkins.ca/site/home) for more details.

 The more I think about it, the more it irks me that Larry Walker didn’t receive more Hall of Fame votes this year. Coors Field, Schmoors Field. Don’t tell me that Babe Ruth’s home run totals weren’t padded by the short right field fence at Yankee Stadium or that Ted Williams’ batting stats weren’t bolstered by playing at Fenway Park. The Coors Field argument is a tiresome one. I would love to hear a logical argument against Walker’s Hall of Fame candidacy that doesn’t mention Coors Field.