Halladay wins 20th in Jays home finale
TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays began Thursday night with an address from team president Paul Godfrey affirming the futures of GM J.P. Ricciardi and manager Cito Gaston, and capped it by celebrating ace Roy Halladay's 20th win.
Thus ended the home portion of their disappointing 2008 season, an 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees allowing their franchise pitcher to post the seventh 20-win season in team history after bigger things had played out behind the scenes.
The Blue Jays (84-75) officially settled the key pillars of their management structure before hitting the road for three games in Baltimore to close out the campaign, with Godfrey confirming Ricciardi's return after Gaston's two-year contract extension was announced.
"To me, it says we're going to continue to try and win and that's important for me," said Halladay. "I like what Cito has done in the time he's been here. I think we've gone in some good directions and I've always trusted J.P. ...
"I like that they're coming back. I feel confident the organization will continue to go the right way."
As for his own future, Godfrey refused to tip his hand, although all signs point to his departure. He said a decision would come "probably next week sometime" and if he does indeed step down, bringing Ricciardi and Gaston back and his talk with the team would be his final acts after eight years in his role.
"I thanked all the players," Godfrey said, "basically told them that I'm sure they're as disappointed as everyone else about not making the playoffs, but that we honestly believe that we have the nucleus of a great team here.
"And I said that those who can come back, should come back next year."
He denied looking in the direction of A.J. Burnett, who can opt out of his contract after the World Series, when making that last comment. The expected departure of the enigmatic right-hander is one of the main issues the team faces this winter.
With Thursday's victory Halladay (20-11) and Burnett (18-10) surpassed Jack Morris (21) and Juan Guzman (16) as the winningest duo in team history, a 1-2 punch they'd be hard-pressed to match without Burnett.
"He's been huge for me," said Halladay. "To have somebody that's right there with you, I really felt like we kind of pushed each other at times."
It will take big money to keep Burnett, and with about US$70 million already committed next season, the Blue Jays are only likely to have in the neighbourhood of $20-$25 million to spend barring a payroll hike.
Godfrey also recently submitted cost projections for 2009 with player salaries at the top of the list.
"I think it will be an appropriate payroll," said Godfrey, "but I can't say it will be significantly higher."
A payroll around $95 million this season earned them a 47-34 home record and helped them draw a total of 2,399,786 fans, up for the sixth straight season. There was a crowd of 44,346 on hand to watch Halladay complete his second 20-win season.
The big right-hander, the club's foundation, mowed through the Yankees (87-72), allowing just two runs on six hits and a walk in his career-high matching ninth complete game. He struck out five, giving him a career-high 206 for the season.
And in a rare gesture of emotion, he traded hugs with his teammates and tipped his cap to the crowd before heading into the clubhouse.
"I want everybody to know how much I appreciate them and how important they were in this," said Halladay. "Really it was more that than being excited about the number, I just felt like there were a lot of guys who helped me do it."
The Blue Jays are expected to start talks on a contract extension with Halladay, who is signed through 2010, in the off-season and he's open to it.
"As long as we continue to make that effort to be that post-season team," he said, "then you can sign me up."
Win No. 20 was a highlight for fans in an event-filled season in which the Blue Jays locked up young cornerstones Alex Rios and Aaron Hill shortly before the home opener, cut ties with DH Frank Thomas two weeks later, fired manager John Gibbons on June 20, brought back Gaston to replace him, won 10 straight games in late August in early September in a too-little, too-late run at the post-season, and ultimately settled for what is likely to be fourth in the AL East.
The Blue Jays were 35-39 when Gibbons was fired following a three-game sweep in Milwaukee and have been 49-36 since.
"We felt very strongly that what we saw during the Milwaukee series was a problem symptomatic of the leadership and coaching of the club that if left, would lead to a very unsatisfactory conclusion this year," said Godfrey.
Not that the inevitable conclusion looming this weekend is particularly palatable either, but it's better than the fiasco they were headed for. More offensive nights like this one early in the season would have made the difference.
"It was a good night," said Gaston.
Vernon Wells erased an early 1-0 deficit with a two-run shot off Carl Pavano (4-2) in the third and after Joe Inglett's RBI single, added a two-run single in the fourth.
"The thing with (Halladay), if you can give him a few, he doesn't need too many," said Wells.
Travis Snider, the top prospect who's made quite a September impression, and Gregg Zaun, in his final days with the team, ripped RBI doubles in the fifth and Marco Scutaro's RBI single in the seventh made it 8-2.
The Yankees scratched out a run on Robinson Cano's RBI single in the third and picked up another when Cody Ransom scored on Francisco Cervelli's double play ball in the fifth.
Notes: A day after serenading Burnett with a standing ovation and chanting his name to prompt a curtain call, a sign in the outfield read "A.J. Stay." ... Snider batted eighth for the second straight game. ... Wells' first two RBIs of the night gave moved him past Lloyd Moseby's 651 for fourth on the club's all-time list.
Canadian actress McAdams to play Sherlock Holmes's love interest
St. Thomas, Ont., actress Rachel McAdams, who starred in The Notebook, will be directed by Guy Ritchie in the film Sherlock Holmes.
Robert Downey Jr. is her co-star in the reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth.
The movie features a less stuffy Holmes, who has a more adventurous approach to sleuthing, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Ritchie is Madonna's husband and the British director behind films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Jude Law plays Dr. Watson and Mark Strong, who starred in Ritchie's RocknRolla, is the villain, Blackwood.
McAdams, who studied drama at York University in Toronto before going on to a career in Hollywood, is Holmes's love interest Irene Adler.
Conan Doyle created her character, an opera singer reputed to have had an affair with the King of Bohemia, in the 1891 story A Scandal in Bohemia.
McAdams's upcoming roles also include State of Play with Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe, which is due in theatres in April, and The Time Traveler's Wife, based on the best-selling book, which will be released in fall 2009.
The Lucky Ones, a story about returning Iraqi War vets, in which McAdams stars with Tim Robbins, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.
AC/DC’s Angus Young on Snubbing iTunes: “We Don’t Make Singles, We Make Albums”
When AC/DC release their new album Black Ice on October 20th exclusively through Wal-Mart, the album will join the Beatles catalog and Kid Rock’s Rock N Roll Jesus in the small “Not Available on iTunes” club. While the stance has done wonders for Jesus‘ renaissance, it nearly ruined Estelle’s chart momentum.
Despite the Wal-Mart exclusivity, AC/DC’s Angus Young said Black Ice wouldn’t show up on Apple’s digital store anyway because “We don’t make singles, we make albums.”
iTunes allows customers to choose between single song or full album purchases. “Way back in the Seventies, we drew these figures on the back of an envelope for our record company. We showed them how much they earned from us if we sold 1 million singles and how much they earned if we sold 1 million albums,” Young said. “The difference was staggering. That was to get them off our back because we only very grudgingly release singles. Our real reason is that we honestly believe the songs on any of our albums belong together.”
Young also says that he recently met some bands that discussed withdrawing from iTunes as well because “I told them that since iTunes came into existence, we’ve actually increased our back catalog sales without being on the site.” Young makes an interesting point: The Beatles and AC/DC rank one and two on the list of highest-selling back catalogs, and neither appear on iTunes. The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, ranked sixth on the list and are available on iTunes.
'The Simpsons' hits a landmark
Homer Simpson is gunning for you, Matt Dillon.
With Sunday's premiere (Fox, 8 ET/PT), The Simpsons will tie Gunsmoke's record of 20 seasons on the air.
The writing staff keeps track of the longevity milestones, executive producer Al Jean says, but creator Matt Groening only cops to one record for the iconic Springfield family, its friends and neighbors. "I think we've used more yellow paint than any other TV show," he says.
Both believe the show is still performing strongly despite recording 445 episodes, including a season premiere that has Homer and neighbor Ned Flanders teaming as bounty hunters and Marge Simpson unwittingly going to work at an erotic bakery. "The writers and animators continue to amaze me," Groening says.
He has proof of the show's staying power, too: its 10th Emmy for outstanding animated series, bestowed this month.
"Every time we get an Emmy, it buys us a couple more years" on the air, Groening says. "That gives us one year to wreck the show and one year to run it into the ground."
Actually, they probably have more time for demolition, if they so choose, with the voice actors signed for four years, including the one that starts this weekend. That would put the show over the 500-episode mark, leaving it trailing only Dillon's Gunsmoke (633) and Lassie (588) for the most episodes of an entertainment series.
Other evidence of The Simpsons' continued vitality includes The Simpsons Movie, which took in $526 million worldwide, and The Simpsons Ride, which opened this year at Universal theme parks in California and Florida.
Jean says there will be a movie sequel, but there are no plans yet and it probably wouldn't happen until the TV show ends production.
Asked for a favorite Simpsons moment, Groening chooses slapstick over satiric, each a show specialty.
"There's an episode from a few years ago in which Homer tries to kill a spider in his garage and ends up getting his neck smashed repeatedly by the automatic garage-door opener. It's just an exquisite little piece of mayhem," he says.
His rare disappointment comes when he feels a gag or concept contradicts the history of the show, "such as when we found out that Principal Skinner was really an imposter."
If the show seems to be more political these days, Jean says that it's just reflecting a more politicized "us vs. them" society of recent years.
Even though production begins nearly a year before broadcast, some upcoming shows are timely. When the Simpson house is foreclosed, neighbor Ned Flanders buys it back and rents it to Homer, Marge and company.
"Things turn nasty," Groening says.
In another, when Bart befriends a Muslim boy, Homer suspects the boy's family of organizing a terrorist plot. In a segment of "Treehouse of Horror XIX" (Nov. 2), the annual Halloween trilogy, Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama, but the machine keeps casting ballots for John McCain before attacking him. That episode also features "It's a Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse."
After such a long time, Groening says a major show challenge is to avoid repeating itself, as sometimes happens. He disagrees with critics who question the quality of the show as it ages.
"We've had our ups and downs, but it seems like most people who say the show has gone downhill don't watch it," he says. "The latest episodes are as clever, complicated, sophisticated and wild as any we have ever done."
The Simpsons' 20th season will add to its honor roll of guest voices as Jodie Foster plays an adult Maggie and says the character's first words since Elizabeth Taylor voiced "Daddy" as baby Maggie years ago.
Guest episodes include:
Homer needs a bail bondsman (Robert Forster) in Sunday's premiere.
Bart tries to be a good Samaritan to impress a girl (Anne Hathaway).
When Homer is cast as a new movie superhero, Everyman, he needs a trainer (Seth Rogen) to get in shape.
Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos and Marv Albert are featured in an episode in which Lisa protests Mr. Burns' new sports arena.
Bart gets Denis Leary's cellphone and makes prank calls pretending to be Leary.
Lisa meets pop teen singer Alaska Nebraska (Ellen Page).
Kenneth Branagh guests in an episode when Homer and Grampa buy an Irish pub.
Kelsey Grammer will be back as Bart's perennial would-be killer, Sideshow Bob, and Joe Mantegna returns as Mob boss Fat Tony.
Who has eluded the show? "U.S. presidents," executive producer Al Jean says. "Going back to Richard Nixon. They've all said no."