  New Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen poses with CEO and President Paul Godfrey on Tuesday. SUN MEDIA/Dave Thomas |
It has been billed as a trade of one team's problem for another team's problem and that may or may not be a fair assessment of the Scott Rolen-for-Troy Glaus deal. Only time will tell.
But it took only a few moments behind a microphone last evening to determine that Rolen and Glaus are personalities from opposite ends of the comedic spectrum.
The taciturn Glaus always has been uncomfortable and standoffish with the media and, occasionally, with teammates. Rolen is clearly cut from a different cloth. Within seconds of taking the podium at the Rogers Centre, he proved to be engaging, funny and not above poking fun at himself. The new Blue Jays third baseman immediately moves to the front of the line, at least as a go-to post-game interview.
After he had warmed everyone up with a story about how his three-year-old daughter had selected his new uniform number -- "firty-free" -- No. 33 engaged in some playful sparring with GM J.P. Ricciardi when Ricciardi referred to Rolen and new ex-teammate David Eckstein as "dirt-bags."
"Boston has some dirt bags and New York has some dirt bags. We have some, but we wanted more," Ricciardi said. In Ricciardi's lexicon of the gritty, there is no higher compliment than calling somebody a dirt-bag.
In responding to questions about his surgically-repaired left shoulder that prevented him from performing to his previous levels last season, Rolen said deadpan. "I can't believe I passed my physical."
He then went on to say he feels stronger than he has in the past three years and that with the range of motion now back to normal in his shoulder, he's free "to get back to being a dirt-bag."
Ricciardi said the deal was discussed as far back as the winter meetings in early December. Glaus had asked Ricciardi at the end of the season he would appreciate it if a trade could be worked out because Glaus was concerned about playing every day on the Rogers Centre's synthetic turf.
"You guys have turf?" asked Rolen, feigning ignorance of the Rogers Centre playing surface.
Rolen's amiable nature seems to make his highly publicised feud with St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa a bit out of character. For his part, at least in his first brush with the Toronto media, Rolen chose to take the high road on that one.
"For me to rehash the past, well, there were some unfortunate things that went on that are insignificant to me sitting here in this uniform right now," he said. "There's plenty of time to cast stones but it's important for me to tell you I truly enjoyed my time in St. Louis.
"I don't feel like I have a problem playing for any manager. I sure don't want people to think I'm a difficult person to get along with."
At his best, Rolen can be a .300 hitter with an on-base percentage in the high .300s, a .500-plus slugging percentage and a 30-homer, 100-RBI man. And then there's the small matter of his eight Gold Gloves.
By reputation, he always has been one of the hardest workers on any of the teams he's played with and he's looking forward to this new phase of his career.
"Some have had success, some have struggled," he said. "It's a great challenge."
