R.A. DICKEY NEEDS TO PAY UP IF HE WANTS HIS FAVORITE NUMBER.
The Toronto Bluejays have already started selling #43 jerseys with the name "DICKEY" on the back. I wonder how Anthony Gose feels about that? I don't know how attached Gose is to number 43, but he could make himself a few bucks next spring. Athletes, by nature, are superstitious. They have routines, like taking batting practice at the same time, dressing a certain way and wearing a certain uniform number that they've had since they were kids. When a player gets traded, he usually requests his favourite number. If that number is occupied, negotiations can take place. Since Dickey signed for some 30 million dollars, Gose might be able to extract some of that in exchange for number 43.
When Rickey Henderson arrived in Toronto in 1993, he wanted his familiar number 24, which was being worn by Turner Ward. Ward asked for 25 thousand dollars. Henderson paid him. The Jays went on to win the World Series over Philly. Contrast that with Phils reliever Mitch (Wild Thing) Williams. He wanted number 28 when he came over to the Phils, but John Kruk had it. Williams inquired about Kruk's asking price for the coveted number. "Two cases of beer" said Kruk. Sold. When Roger Clemens joined the Jays, he wanted number 21, which was worn by Carlos Delgado. Clemens gave Delgado a Rolex watch in exchange for the number.
If you play in the league long enough, that uniform number becomes your identity. But if you're a rookie, and want your college number when you turn pro, it could get tricky.....and expensive. When Eli Manning signed a huge contract with the New York Giants in 2004, he wanted number 10, his college number at Ole Miss. The only problem was, punter Jeff Feagles had number 10. Feagles negotiated a deal with Manning. A one week vacation in Florida for his family in exchange for number 10. Feagles then took jersey number 17, and sold it the following year to receiver Plaxico Burress in exchange for a new outdoor kitchen at his home. Nice work if you can get it.
The problem with numbers is that sometimes they just aren't available. When Barry Zito arrived in Oakland, he wanted to pitch like his buddy Kris Benson, who wore number 34. When Zito was told that 34 had been retired as a tribute to Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, he chose number 75. Steve Sax wore number 3 for the Dodgers his entire career. When he was traded to the Yankees in 1989, he requested number 3, obviously unaware that it had been retired long ago. Some guy named Ruth wore it.
Gose is really the only Jay that can negotiate for his uniform number. Melky Cabrera wore #53 last year. That's available if he wants it. Josh Johnson was #55 and Mark Buehrle has always been #56. Jose Reyes wears #7 and Emilio Bonifacio wears #1. All those numbers are available as well. And, there's a possibility that Dickey won't want number 43. After all, he's also worn numbers 39, 41, 45 and 51 in his major league career. Anthony Gose is hoping Dickey really, really likes number 43 and is willing to pay for it. If that happens, look for Gose to wear jersey number 2, which was vacated by Kelly Johnson.
How do you explain the Toronto Raptors. Three straight wins without Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry. Jose Calderon playing out of his mind. Alan Anderson, a 31 year old journeyman if there ever was one, has played in more countries than the U.N. has flags, yet he's been "en feu" since coming back from injury scoring 18 and 24 points in his last two games. Ed Davis and Amir Johnson have been solid, and generally speaking the team has found a rhythm that they didn't have with that big 7 footer in the lineup. A win tonight over Detroit would make it four in a row. When Lowry becomes healthy, do you put him back as the starting point guard, or stick with Calderon?
With all the problems surrounding the Buffalo Bills, is it possible they will scrap the Ryan Fitzpatrick experiment and go and get a proven quarterback? If so, Michael Vick should be on their radar. When Vick came out of prison, he said he wanted to go to Buffalo but was persuaded by Tony Dungy to join the Eagles because Andy Reid was a great coach and Philly seemed to be a stable organization. Well, how did that work out? Vick on the Bills would be fabulous. Risky, but fabulous. And just what Buffalo fans need after 13 straight seasons of missing the playoffs. That's the longest current streak in the NFL. Is Jim Kelly still available to play?
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