ElNik2013

Let me say I should've added "solely on the GM" to that sentence. Also, it's been reported that Arte Moreno was front and centre in negotiations with Pujols's camp when that contract was handed out. Same with Hamilton's. There are some really dumb contracts given out by GM's, but owners and team presidents should share the blame for such bad decisions.

It's a $240M contract, it's not the same as any "player personnel decision". Let's just say it's a bad organizational decision and the blame should be spread around. I just think a smart owner would tell his GM to GTFO at the mere suggestion of such a contract, especially when they reportedly outbid themselves. The team president was involved in negotiations as well. Not saying he's a good GM by any means.

There's no way you can put the blame on the GM for the contract given to Cano. That's just too large an amount of money for the team president and owners not to have been fully behind. If/when this contract blows up in their face, ownership will have to start the blame game by standing in front of their mirror and pointing the finger at it.

All you need to know is that they're (Jays' owners) keeping AA as GM. If ratings were down, he'd be gone. They're satisfied with what they're making. I hear Rogers should be more concerned with how their main business is run since I heard/read somewhere that their shares are down close to 10% from last year.

Seems like Rasmus 2.0.

What tells us AA soured on Rasmus? Is it the fact that they won't make him a QO? Also, Escobar was given away for PR reasons. It wasn't a decision made solely by the GM, it's the way the Blue Jays operate. I can't blame them for this since they play in a city that claims to respect homosexuals' rights and I can see why they wouldn't want to take the PR hit.

LOL. Since we're all over the place, we have to count Bautista and EE as well since we're blaming them for Rasmus not panning out. And when I say 'we' I mean "he".

You might be right. I imagine you've compared their system to the other 29 teams? It would be interesting to see your research and discuss it. Some examples please. And how do they compare with the rest of MLB. I'd say from the top on down, but it's just semantics at this point.

Lawrie brings additional value to the Blue Jays because if his "Hockey Player Mentality!!!" i.e. his Canadianness. Beeston and others at Rogers are praying Pompey does pan out 'cause imagine how much they'd milk having 2 legit Canadian starting everyday players. Now, if they would use their brains and sign Russell Martin....

I hope Jays' ownership is taking notes since they decide who runs their team, as well as how it's run.

You just knew Matt Williams was looking for an excuse to yank Zimmerman. Gotta love these managers.

Better slide and he's safe. Looks like the right call to me although it's more a case of inconclusive evidence to overturn the call.

Yes, I would although I'm not sure "blame" is the word I'd use in the sense that, it's their team, so they can choose to do as they please. Would I prefer that they ran the team in the most efficient way possible? Yes, I would, but it's their team. I keep trying to point this out to people who get worked up over the GM, but some people are so heart-broken by AA that their views are tainted by the feeling of betrayal. They get so personal with the guy by making fun of his ballooning weight to help them prove their point. It's ok though, that's their right.

I mentioned in another post that they probably became desperate after reportedly striking out on Peavy and Anibal Sanchez. Furthermore, because this F/O has proven to not be effective in the FA market, at least not yet. I have no problem with your point though and would've preferred that they follow the course. I just don't think this franchise operates in such a way that it would prefer to have a very good farm system and a 90-100 loss MLB team to having a bottom half farm team, or slightly worse, and a team expected to contend. Remember, this is a business as well and Rogers, imo, would easily choose option 2. I have pointed out that not only did the Jays give up young players and payroll flexibility in the Marlins and Dickey trade, but they also gave up a chance to have a top 5 draft pick in 2014 instead of a top 10 pick which would've further strengthened the farm system. On the other hand, maybe they value the higher attendance and tv viewership that they had in 2013 and 2014 than they would've had without the trades.

George Kottaras has decided to become a FA. I guess they could still bring him back, but Thole's probably back next season.

Here's Beeston, the team president, on whether or not AA will be back next season: Now, there have been GM's who got fired after getting a vote of confidence from their higher-ups, but this seemed pretty emphatic. Still, no doubt we still need confirmation from the people who actually own the franchise so we'll have to continue to wait a bit longer.

The point is that the owners of the franchise think he's done a good enough job to keep him as GM so it doesn't matter what some GM wanna-be's on the internet have to say, whether it's you or me. And yes, he's had enough time to build a playoff team so I wouldn't bring him back, but again, my opinion doesn't matter and neither does yours, just pointing it out. And yes, some of you thought AA was great his first 2 plus years, just pointing that out also. It really doesn't matter to me whether JPR was better than AA or vice-versa. If JPR needed more support from ownership and wasn't given it, then I blame ownership for not realizing they had a competent GM and for not providing the necessary funds to help him be successful. If AA has had too much support from ownership, then I blame ownership for not realizing they should fire his ass and get someone better who could more efficiently spend their money and assemble a better team all while making more money for them. And much to our chagrin, it's a fact that AA is coming back next year, at least according to the team President: Some of you take this s*** way too seriously, but to each his own.

Had they not made the trades in 2012, RR and Morrow would've lead the 2013 staff into 95-100 loss territory. Alvarez and Happ would've been the other 2 and they both missed time with injuries. I think some people forget how injuries and Romero's implosion in 2012 probably made them desperate to at least be respectable in 2013 instead of tanking the whole season, which is something this franchise is not into.

Since no one posted direct quotes from this interview, here's a recap from BBB: http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2014/10/3/6900875/paul-beeston-talks

I don't think it would be smart to count on 4 youngsters plus Buehrle to lead you to the playoffs. I guess it would be Buehrle and Happ plus Hutchison, Stroman and one of Sanchez, Norris or Nolin. I think the team would be better off keeping Dickey and letting the youngsters get more time at AAA unless they go out and get a Scherzer or Lester type of FA. I think the franchise would be better off if they spent money to address its major needs. Buehrle has only 1 year left on his deal at 19M and there's a team option for 2016 on Dickey's deal. I think there are other guys coming off the books after next season as well so it would be a 1 year bump to give it one final shot. If not, they could blow it up after the season or mid-season.

It would be great if this wasn't the case, but it's the case for most sports franchises. I do think this is partly how the Jays are run and why I think it's a bit misguided to get all worked up about the GM or team President since they're trying to execute the mandate set out by the owners. In my opinion, this vision is to not let the team be so bad that the attendance and tv ratings will cause them to lose money. In my opinion, owners set the vision for each franchise. I really think the Cards and Rays' success starts with their owners. It applies to all franchises. Now, AA should've done better in the trades, no doubt about it, but if the owners wanted efficiency, they would've probably never even approved the trades or already fired the President and GM for making them...unless they've made enough $ the last 2 years that they figured they wouldn't have made had they let the team lose 90-100 games in 2013 and 14.

Please go back and look at what the starting rotation was expected to be prior to the trades, here's a hint: Morrow, Alvarez and Happ would've been your top 3. As it turned out, Morrow ended up being out for a good chunk of the season so it would've been worse than that. Maybe 100 losses is an exaggeration, but the bigger point is that expectations would've been very low as would attendance and tv ratings. Now, that's not to say I agree with the direction they took. I would've been fine with sticking waiting for the farm to pay dividends. However, I can sort of understand a franchise owned by the sports channel that broadcasts its games not wanting to go into a season expecting to be one a bottom 5 team in all of baseball. Anyway, they own the team and if Beeston and AA still have jobs, it means they've done a good enough job in the eyes of the owners of the franchise.

Most of us are company "yes men" to some extent. If, like you say, Rogers is making money off the team, then AA and Beeston have done their jobs...at least as far as the owner is concerned, which is all that matters.

So The Beest isn't going anywhere unless Rogers cans him, this is the most important tidbit to come out of this. This clearly means the owners of the franchise are satisfied with the job The Beest and The Feast are doing...so please, stop whining about the GM and President. Or, just buy the team and run it how you see fit which would've meant 100 losses in 2013 and 2014 with lower attendance and tv viewership.

If Bautista and Janssen knew the Jays "weren't even close to contending on paper or the field", then why would they criticize the team for not getting the Prados or Headleys of the baseball world? I guess they should've traded Pompey, Stroman and Norris for Shark...