Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun profiles how the Toronto Blue Jays had a head start on acquiring Jose Bautista in 2008. Bautista as it's been well noted has emerged as the games best hitter.
TORONTO - The way Mike Berger remembers The Trade unfolding was his boss, Tony LaCava, having a vision.
“A lot of baseball people live in the moment: ‘Who’s starting tonight?’ Tony can forecast 15-20 days down the road on teams,” Berger said. “He sees things through a prism.”
LaCava remembers it as a “total team effort” by his pal and the boss.
Berger was point man in August 2008. LaCava told him to drop what he was doing and head to triple-A Indianapolis to watch a player the Pittsburgh Pirates had recently demoted.
“Tony told me to sit on him,” Berger said, which scout talk for “watch this guy, until we tell you not to — we’ve got something going.”
And, after five games ...
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