CHRIS

I would love to see the offseason that allows us to keep Osuna in the minors all year. I get the idea that he's more valuable in the rotation than in the pen, and I like him there eventually for sure, but with 2016 potentially being the last season with both JB and EE, I'm a little tempted to keep him either in the bullpen or in the rotation in some creative manner. I'm hesitant to spend an extra 4M on a guy that does what Osuna does, when by that claim, Osuna does the same job for peanuts. I think it's a real balancing act trying to capitalize on where we are in the competitive curve and also look ahead.

I agree. I know that 2017 might be tricky with both Bautista and Edwin coming up, but I'd rather that Shapiro and the gang have to work a bit harder next offseason, if the tradeoff is a more realistic chance in 2016. The only guys I would consider trading away from the non-pitching side, in realistic trade scenarios, would be Revere and Smoakabello.

I think trading Tulo only makes sense if payroll is going down, which a lot of people think is going to happen, despite Shapiro and LaCava both stating otherwise. I really don't want to see us have to burn through the Tollesons and Kawasakis of the world again.

I guess they weren't close.

My guess is that there are about 2-3 mods just ITCHING to merge this thread somewhere.

I would be interested to hear Berkman define "slippery slope" and what "trouble" is going to arrive in a hurry. Religion is the worst.

What if we were just nice and respectful to everyone?

This sounds like a fantastic idea, if your objective is to make Stroman SUPER SAD.

Sometimes it's not so much about having "good" bench players as much as it is just having guys that are capable of playing the position at all. If I'm not mistaken, the initial arrival of Kawasaki, for example, ocurred when Reyes went down and there wasn't another guy on the 40 man roster that was capable of filling in at short. After the early season demotion of Pompey, who would have played CF in the event that Pillar went down? I'm guessing Bautista? I think there is a certain amount of luck in that Pillar emerged in the manner that he did, and that one of Osuna/Castro were effective.

Also, let's be clear...he didn't fall off a cliff, he fell up some stairs.

Filling out the last 4 or 5 spots on the roster always seemed to be AA's weak spot; opting for the DeRosas and Vizquels of the world rather than guys who could actually play and/or had a meaningful role to play. This past season was really no different, considering we had all of (I think) Colabello, Valencia and Goins getting time in LF.

Give him a break. He was probably running a regression at the same time and just plain got distracted.

I'm terrible at polls.

Looks like Sky Dome with a space. We're still good.

I think you're making a couple of incorrect assumptions here: 1. That maintaining payroll will automatically equate to a less competitive team 2. That floating the $140 million number means that they've locked in that number and can't adjust as needed Why don't we just wait to hear what Shapiro has to say before we prep our caps lock button?

I don't know much about his speaking manner. Wonder if he'll be more open/candid than AA. I'm hoping for a level of openness that is somewhere in between JPR and AA.

A lot of people looking to make Rogers the bad guy here based on the changing offers (years/terms). I'm not sure why the offers wouldn't have changed over time. Coming into this season: the Jays hadn't accomplished a whole lot under the AA/Beeston years (snazzy new uniforms aside). Offer = Maybe extend him by 1 year to give him one final kick at the can. Part-way through the season: the team is under .500, but with run differential suggesting the team should be better. Offer = Maybe offer him a couple of years, in case he's onto something, but not too long, in case he's not. President search = Let's get a guy who can assume both roles with Beeston leaving and maybe AA if this doesn't turn around. End of season: Wow! Excitement! Attendance! Playoffs! Merchandise! Offer = This is good, let's lock him up for 5 years. We'll even give him an out in case he doesn't get along with the new guy. Not really sure what Alex is thinking here, unless it's that he doesn't want to be the GM of a team with little to no depth in the upper minors because he gutted the upper minors to make a run under the assumption that he was likely going to get the boot at the end of the season.

Can't wait. A lot of casuals probably going to spend most of the morning preparing their anger for every word that comes out of his mouth.

I was really surprised to see the opt out clause after the first year. Really don't know what Alex is thinking here, unless the thinks that this team has nowhere to go but down.

Rafael Palmeiro (visualize: emphatic finger pointing) disagrees with this.

I wouldn't extend him at this point. What if he starts dating Miss America, then gets dumped by Miss America, then due to his constant collapsing and weeping, buggers both knees? No, no, no. Fool me once.

Yes. Pillar being gamed for being too good to rot in one of the corners.

Which radio are you watching on?

Dombrowski: "Ah jeez, Ruben. This is so awkward, but we've decided to go with a guy with a bit more AL East experience at first. I'm sure you understand."

I agree with this, as long as it doesn't provide a distraction (i.e., Gibbons feels more loyal to AA than the new guy, etc.). I'm wondering if the core of this roster is veteran enough to serve as that continuity.