It Seems Like Richard Griffin Will Agree With Any Comments His Readers Send Him

Here's a couple snippets from this week's Richard Griffin mailbag....Griffbag as I like to call it.

Q: Richard,

Can you please tell me when John Gibbons will start using his closer for one inning only?

Has he not learned yet that the 4-5 out close is not beneficial in the long run for a team? Accardo has been fantastic all year for the Jays and should continue in the role. After he was put in for the 5-out save against the Yankees, his numbers have decreased.

Shouldn't Gibby and J.P. have realized after B.J. Ryan's injury that one inning is enough?

Grant Brevitt, Thorold

pnoles: Here's the backstory on why this isn't a good point by Grant. That 5-out save against the Yankees was the first time that Accardo has gone more than an inning since becoming the closer. It's not like this was becoming a habit. Grant seems to be implying that Accardo's poor performances on June 7th and June 8th were a result of pitching an extra 2/3 of an inning on May 29th. Between May 29th and June 7th, Accardo threw only two innings (and they were scoreless). Granted, Gibbons threw him 1.1 innings on the 7th, but Accardo had only thrown one inning in the week leading up to that. There's no way you can argue he was subject to "pitcher abuse". The fact of the matter is, that 1.07 ERA of his wasn't going to last, and he was bound to give up his share of runs eventually. Ok. Enough nicely correcting non-analysts. It's time to make fun of analysts! Take it away, Richard Griffin! I'm sure you'll correct this man's error!

A: Gibbons did learn his lesson with regard to B.J. Ryan last year, when he rode his lefty closer in the first half like a rented emu and watched him struggle after the All-Star Game.

First of all....rented emu???? I think Jay Mariotti snuck into your jokebook.

Second, B.J. Ryan was a great closer last year, but come on Griffin, he's only human! He was bound to give up runs at some point in the year. July was a rough month for Ryan, but look at what happened in August and September! Just 2 earned runs combined! Aren't the last two months of the season supposed to be when a pitcher starts to feel overworked? Ryan's workload wasn't decreased in July as opposed to the first three months, so if you think that he was fresher for August and September, you're dead wrong. You don't have to agree with what people tell you.

Gibbons swore coming into this spring that he would use Ryan exclusively in one-inning situations and, other than one or two times, he lived with that decision.

Gotta love the ol' "other than one or two times" method of covering one's ass so that one doesn't have to actually research anything. This actually never happened, Richard, you can look for yourself here. Ryan never threw more than 1 inning in a game this season.

However, the fact that Accardo and Jason Frasor were both taking over the Jays' ninth-inning role as former middle relievers and setup men, plus the fact that they were younger than Ryan with fewer innings, Gibbons thought he could get away with 4-5 out saves. Wrong!

Frasor was actually more successful in saving games when he came in during the 8th, and either way, it's too small a sample size to draw a conclusion about him. Accardo has only been called on twice before the 9th inning in his month's tenure as closer, and you're going to blame him finally regressing to the mean on two 4-5 out save appearances spaced a week and a half apart with little work in-between? It's JUNE, Richie, there's no way Accardo is exhausted. He's thrown 26.2 innings so far this season. Pretty humdrum for a regular MLB reliever. See?

Make no mistake. Accardo will be the man the rest of the year and with the re-emergence of Frasor and the effectiveness of Casey Janssen and Scott Downs, there is no need to abuse Accardo again.

Oh. You don't get it.

To excuse Gibbons, managing is a day-to-day job so when you have a lead and feel you can win that day, it is an extremely difficult decision to go with a setup man in the eighth when your closer is fresh. The big picture is always blurry

Please, allow Richard Griffin to excuse John Gibbons for trying to win a tight baseball game.

Q: Hey Richard.

I'm a huge Jays fan from way out here on the east coast in Newfoundland and I love your weekly question and answer column. I'm visiting Toronto towards the end of June and will be taking the family to our first-ever live Jays game on June 22 (the Rockies are in town). Where is the best spot in the Rogers Centre to watch the game, regardless of price? Any suggestions on making the game as enjoyable as possible for me and the kids? Thanks for the info!

Luke Joyce, Bay Bulls, Nfld.

Haha.....a true piece of cake to answer. Or is it?

A: To me, the best places at the Rogers Centre to watch the game are the first few rows of the upper deck behind home plate (especially if the kids are real ball fans where they can see the game unfold in front of them) or the first few rows up from the field, down the right field line, preferably just past the end of the visitors dugout. If you get into the stadium when the gates first open the Rockies will be taking their batting practice. Take the kids to the first base side on either end of their dugout and they will be able to see the major leaguers up close and maybe even get some autographs.

Upper deck - arguable that the first couple of rows give you the best perspective, but you want them to sit further down the line from the dugout and not behind it? And behind the visitors dugout rather than the home dugout? This family is full of BLUE JAYS FANS. Why are we talking about getting Troy Tulowitzki's autograph out of the best place to see a Blue Jays game?

Of course there is really nothing like the close to the action seats right behind the plate at field level that get all the exposure on TV. But, in terms of bang for the buck, they aren't the best deal.

Read the part of the question again right after "Where is the best spot in the Rogers Centre to watch the game,".

Ah well, this is all I have time for.....to summarize the rest of the Griffbag, everyone who writes in to Griffin is right, and everybody has a great point, and no one is wrong, and analysts don't need to offer informed opinions, because their purpose is to affirm things other people already know or believe, not to offer a new point of view.