First, another tribute to those who make us laugh: Our last trade target was Adam Dunn, and cmathewson nailed the nickname for us, writing, “How about Dunnder Whifflin, an homage to ‘The Office.’ ”

Admittedly, it took me a while. When you spend most nights at the ballpark, you’re not exactly hip to TV lingo. But I have seen “The Office” and after a Google search, I realized Dunnder Mifflin is the name of the Scranton-based paper supply company where Steve Carell and his minions work their magic.

For our puproses Dunnder has now whiffed 97 times in 266 at-bats. Of course, he has a Morneau-esque 20 jacks now, too. … Sigh.

It’s been a slow morning. Todd Zolecki, a friend from our Minnesota Daily days, reports that The Real Deal will tote his 14.63 big league ERA to the mound in a spot start for the Phillies on Friday. Also, as a frequent flier, let’s just say I found this story … interesting.

After spending that last road trip with the Twins, I got a real sense that this trade talk is mostly futile. Many insiders feel the team won’t pull the trigger on a deal for a slugger. Other teams are asking a lot, Twins don’t want to part with prospects … blah, blah, blah.

Quite frankly, I’ve thought about ditching this trade target series. But since the Blue Jays are in town, here’s a name that was floating around on some of those insider’s wish lists not long ago: Matt Stairs. That was back when the Blue Jays looked buried and when Stairs was just starting his recent tear. So, for the sake of discussion, let’s take a closer look:

Name: Matt Stairs, Blue Jays OF/1B

Basics: He’s 39 (turns 40 on Feb. 27). Bats L, Throws R. 5-9, 215 lbs. Born in St. John, New Brunswick (Canada, eh). Originally drafted by the Montreal Expos, he played for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan before eventually becoming a regular for the Oakland A’s.

Stats: Batting .304 with 12 homers and 28 RBI. A .371 on-base percentage and a .582 slugging percentage, which is why the Blue Jays now have him batting third. All 12 of his home runs have come since May 13.

Salary: $850,000. The Blue Jays signed him to a minor-league deal, so Stairs has been a steal. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

Good Twin because: He’s red-hot at the plate right now, and with Jeff Cirillo’s knees barking, he’d give the Twins another first base option with Morneau out with a bruised lung. He plays left field and right field. The Blue Jays haven’t used him as a DH because they have Frank Thomas, but Stairs could also DH for the Twins. Minnesota’s preference would be to add another righthanded bat, and Stairs bats lefty, but the way he’s hitting, it shouldn’t matter which way he swings.

Available?: Maybe a month ago. But the Jays have now won 16 of 26. The Twins fancy themselves a wild-card contender, trailing Cleveland by 5 1/2 games, and Toronto is only a half-game behind Minnesota. But 1B Lyle Overbay and LF Reed Johnson are getting closer to returning from the disabled list, so there could be a Toronto surplus. There have been recent reports that the Jays are listening to offers for 3B Troy Glaus. A Southern California native with a no-trade clause, Glaus isn’t coming here anytime soon, but in Stairs’ case, Terry Ryan should keep Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi on his speed dial.

Probable cost: Toronto might be thrilled to turn a minor-league signee into a B-level prospect. If the Blue Jays cool off again, Stairs is definitely one to watch.

Potential Bat-Girl nickname (*You know, if she still ran the greatest blog ever): Stairway to Heaven. (That seemed too easy. Definitely open to your suggestions.)

Odds this trade happens: 16-to-1. Another reach, we know.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 11:30 am and is filed under Around MLB, Trade Targets, Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.