leaffie

I think it came about by accident, if that is possible in baseball. The Al east looked like it was wide open with the Sox/Yankees floundering. The pressure was starting to build with more fans coming back to the park and expectations rising. Then there was the additional money that every team will be getting this year. Plus, AA had a chance to get Reyes, that he has always coveted, and the trade grew from there. I actually didn't have a problem with the Marlins trade. It was the Dickey trade that I really disliked. Not because I didn't want to give up D'Arnaud (I think he will be less than stellar), but because they gave him up for what I considered a pitcher that was not going to be our Ace. I would have given away all three of our stud pitching prospects, to get a true Ace, that was young and healthy. This club is really not that far away. Just my take.

My apologies. Sometimes it is difficult to get the point, on these boards.

They are a business first. You may not like it, but it is the truth. If they can combine both things, then all the better, but until Mark Cuban comes along and buys the team, you either accept it, or get another team. The angels went all in, and had no more success than the Jays. Are they a joke too?

Well since you seen to be intimating that I am out of touch, perhaps you could enlighten me. I know exactly what the big picture is, but since your dream is for this team to be a self sustaining entity with a never ending supply of top prospects, that never get injured, and always work out exactly when needed, maybe it is you that can't seem to understand the big picture. This is a business, and as such, it's main purpose is to make money for Rogers and it's shareholders. As bad as this year was, they took a chance, and it has paid off at the bank. I can't help it if you want a team like the Rays, supported with the payroll of $120 million, with one of the best farm teams. That is not what the Jays are, nor would it have been that way for at least another 3-4 years, if ever. They draft too high, in case you haven't noticed. And as far as the Rays are concerned, they are having their own set of problems, and that ten years of top prospects and number 1 picks, have made their way to the top, and then what?

And I am quite sure Rogers has seen the jump in dollars in every aspect, from attendance to advertising rates. I doubt they will let this go backwards now.

Not debating the worth of the trade, but would this team's attendance continue to spiral down if nothing was done, after the disaster that was 2012. Could the Jays maintain any momentum with the new fans without no sign of improvement before 2015 or beyond.

It's not about beating the best. It is about having the same opportunity as everyone else in your division. Why should Cleveland get to play Houston,while the Rays are beating themselves up trying to get by the Red Sox. All teams should play each other equal # of times.

Well glad to see that the constant negativity, that is blue jays land reigns supreme. How about some suggestions on how to fix the team. And not the fire so and so, over and over again. How about some suggestions on who is a better player that the Jays have a chance of getting. How about some prospects that most are so in love with, that the Jays could get, and what they would have to give up. How about some legitimate discussion on what pitchers would be successful in Rogers center. How about some viable trades that would help this team going forward. It is easy to say, this team will be dead last again next year. But since this is a discussion board, how about some discussion.

You have to have hope :-) I do believe that if they can manage to keep their players on the field, they could meld into a good team. I loathe Boston, and try to be objective. But I really don't think they are that good, just that everyone else in the division has been so bad. Now if they win the WS, then I will have to admit I was wrong. But in the meantime, I am just going to look forward to next year for the Jays (again), and wish nothing but bad luck to the Sox.

While most of the posters here were not around to live through the beginning seasons of the Jays, I was. Of all the terrible seasons, with no wins, and no name players, this is the worst that I ever remember. It is the most disappointing, after all the moves, and hype. To see all the excitement of the new fans, and old ones in the off season, to the absolutely disgusting end, when the Red Sox clinched, with Farrell and that smug look on his face, I can't think of a baseball moment I hated more than that. But there is hope for next year. The Jays can't possibly have three years in a row with the endless list of injuries. There is hope that now that Rogers has put up the money, and seen the resulting attendance figures, they will continue. But since fans have nothing else to do until next spring, I am looking for some positives for this team going forward. If anyone has some to add, please feel free. IMHO Drabek will be our surprise next year. Gose will continue to improve at the plate, and in the field. Lawrie will have a full season of great defense and production. Any more????

Maybe he should be looking for his offense somewhere else, and keep someone who will provide excellent defense to go with Lawrie and Reyes.

•Anthopoulos feels that, from a defensive standpoint, rookie Ryan Goins could be the best second baseman the Blue Jays have had since Orlando Hudson in his prime. Indeed, both UZR/150 (+40.6) and The Fielding Bible (+6 runs) rave about Goins defense in an admittedly microscopic 99-inning sample size. This was from AA's interview this morning.

He ranks third in the American League in home runs with 36. He ranks third in RBI with 102. He ranks fifth with a .925 OPS. While it may be unrealistic to think that Edwin Encarnacion will ever win the Triple Crown, especially while Miguel Cabrera is still in a major league uniform, the Toronto Blue Jays slugger could certainly take two out of three of those categories in 2014. In fact, looking ahead to 2014, Encarnacion could well be the top first baseman in the American League, if not all of baseball. Sure, Chris Davis is flirting with a .300 batting average and 50 home run season, but its hard to imagine that he'll be able to sustain a career-high 30.9 HR/FB percentage along with his low (for him) strikeout percentage of 28.8 percent. Encarnacion, on the other hand, has seen his batting average remain consistently in the .270-.280 range for three seasons now while steadily improving his BB/K rate to 1.37. While Davis seems prime for regression, Encarnacion looks to be the "safer" player in terms of a repeat 2014 season. Fantasy players, especially, should make sure his name sits near the top of all of their 2014 wish lists.

I would rather have McCaan too, but doubt he is coming to TO. Plus, they should be using that money or trades to improve the pitching.

Certainly better than JP. He is an experienced catcher, that frames pitches well, knows how to help his pitchers and has a BA of about .280 with 15 or so HR's. Won't cost as much as McCann, and won't need a long term contract.

Most would go with McCann, but I doubt the Jays would get him. A.J. Pierzinsky for me.

With his bank account, I am sure he had them lined up and taking a number.

That is the first thing that I have read that actually makes sense.

Has anyone got any answers or guesses to what exactly happened to him. I know that he should have never been called an Ace, but Ricky the pitcher seems to have just disappeared. And I don't for a minute believe it was because some girl dumped him.

The farm was a mess, is what I meant to say.

Frank Thomas was just about at the end of his career. BJ Ryan and AJ Burnett were both overpaid for the market at the time. Some GM's were shocked at the amount of contract that they got. So that leaves Molina, who the Jays should have never let go. So that is not a lot of FA signings for his tenure. Perhaps it is not true, but there have been numerous reports of FA's that have turned down the Jays. The only time that I can remember FA's lining up to come to Toronto, was after they were successful and on the verge of WS wins. Who should AA have signed last year for pitching. I mentioned Lohse in the offseason and was promptly told he would be terrible. But he has looked pretty good to me. But who else was out there on the FA market?

No it hasn't, but I think he took over such a mess with so few legitimate prospects, that when he started building the farm everyone was excited that the Jays were going to go the Tampa route. And I agree that is the way to go. But TO is such a unique situation with FA's not really wanting to sign here, and the length of time since they have even sniffed Sept baseball, that drastic measures were needed.

Yes, it is kind of his job. But you had a pitcher, that had no injury problems, no TJ surgery in his future. Had successfully pitched to a very good record for three years. You cannot project injuries, no matter who you sign. BUT I REPEAT, I DID NOT LIKE THIS TRADE.

You can't be blind to see that the direction of the team changed drastically. Alex went from making shrewd, creative moves like nabbing Olivo and turning him into a comp pick, to making two large moves that pretty much any GM in baseball could make. Why has Alex completely stopped making creative moves? It's like he's given up? " Of course not, but that is not what this discussion was about to start with. It was would AA be fired, and I said no. He has done his job, whether the "real" fans appreciate this or not. AA used and abused the sytem, and they changed it. You can't get a draft pick anymore for dumping off players at the deadline. You know this. There are now restrictions on how much you can spend on the international market, so they cut that avenue off. You and I had a similar discussion before the end of last season. I said then, that AA could not and would not let the momentum that was being built, slip away because of all the injuries in 2012. He went out and did what he always said, he used his farm and made trades. "AA sacrificed the future for the now" But the question was and always will be, when was the future? How many years before those prospects came up and made a difference. 3 years, 5 years? They were never all going to get there together, so they were used. The only teams in baseball that seem to manage to get their prospects to the majors and all doing well, is Tampa and St. Louis. You know that the odds of being drafted and having a player actually make it to the majors is about 1 in 5. So all this raving about him thrashing the farm, is tiresome. Who has he traded off, that has over achieved, except Escobar, and that is one mistake that AA needs to own. He should have never traded him, but a bunch of sanctimonious experts decided that he needed to go, including lots that posted on the old board. Yes, he traded prospects, and some that look good. But , succeeding in AA means nothing, until they prove themselves in the majors. I certainly understand the sabremetrics, I understand why they are constantly used to compare A and B. But that is not always the be all/end all of a ballplayer. I said I didn't like the Dickey trade, not from the very first word of it. But he had successfully pitched for three years, won for a team that was terrible, and won the CY. It is easy to see why AA traded for him. Who else was out there that was willing to come to TO. If this team was to move forward again, it HAD to get some pitching. This "casual" fan tag that seems to get placed on people that don't agree, or don't spend every minute studying prospects sheets is insulting. They can care about the team just as much as anyone. But maybe they don't care about winning 5 years from now. And what exactly is wrong with that? A lot of them have waited a long time, and wanted a team that had a chance. AA put that team on the field. They didn't perform for various reasons, and that is the sad situation of this year. But a GM's job is to run a successful ball club. AA has done that. He said at the time, this was a three year process, and I would suggest that he should be given his three years.

Right, and that is AA's fault how???