Santos

Im with most that say they want nothing to do with Ervin Santana. When there is a fair chance that Drew Hutchinson or Marcus Stroman could be better then him next year it means you should probably stay away....But that's the thing here..I look at the Jays stable of arms and i see potential in Stroman, Hutchinson and even Drabek. Lets not forget about Dustin McGowan either. Although I highly doubt he will ever receover, Ricky Romero also remains a name to watch. Dont get me wrong...Im not arguing that the Jays are going to win this year because of these arms cause quite frankly that's unlikely. But is it soo crazy to think 1 or 2 of the names i just mentioned could out pitch Ubaldo Jimenez? What about Ervin Santana? What could be a big factor in all of this that no one is recognizing is the 2014 Pitching Free Agent Class HOMER BAILEY MAX SCHERZER JON LESTER JUSTIN MASTERSON JAMES SHIELDS All 5 of those names are substantially better pitchers then both Jimenez and Santana. If AA's thinking is lets see what we have in our kids in 2014 and if they falter go big in the deeper FA class...could you really blame him? Im pissed to lose out on Jimenez aswell..That is an affordable contract...But perhaps Year 2 of this 5 Year championship window will be the most important in seeing what the future beholds.

1. Ubaldo Jiminez - Best upside of any of the remaining pitchers 2. Matt Garza - Health issues a concern for solid #2 pitcher 3. Ervin Santana - Inconsistent but stuff is there 4. AJ Burnett - NL numbers won't translate in AL East again

Thanks Spanky Yeah I'm not really sure what the hell you guys are talking about here lol For those who have emailed me so far...thank you I understand many of you recently joined leagues hence why you may be against joining another..totally get it But for those who looking for a fresh start or want to emphasize a league built on a strong farm perhaps or what not...please email me Justin.rodrigues88@hotmail.com

Hey guys Santos Here! I'm looking to add another fantasy team to my stable this season, but I'd love to be able to finally start one from scratch. It would be 20 teams and 20 man farm systems. I'd need someone to run the proboards portion of the site as I'm not very strong with the site. I'm even thinking of attaching a $10 fee just so we have some money to compete for, but I can be swayed away from doing that if it's an issue. Want to build an on field dynasty? Want to build the best farm system in the league? Email me at justin.rodrigues88@hotmail.com if interested Regards Justin

Yea...this miserable first half has actually painted a pretty clear picture for the Jays: Dont trade him (low value) and give him an extending qualifying offer in the offseason...If i was a betting man, I'd bet we see JJ in a Jays uniform next year. For him personally I'd think it wouldnt be a bad idea to accept the offer and try to rebuild his value so he can cash in next offseason. What kind of contract would he get for the way he has played this season??? Much lower then believed heading into 2013 for sure....From a Jays perspective, they will either get another season of JJ which could be a very good thing if he does in fact rebound or he walks and we get our 3rd pick in the 1st round of what would be a very deep draft. If JJ has a really strong 2nd half, then the JAys have the leverage of just trying to extend him to a multi year deal...I dont care how much better the AL East is compared to everyone else. The truth is JJ is a very good pitcher who should be performing much better then this...There is no reason he cant be a 3.50 ERA type pitcher in the AL East when healthy

One guy says Jays are favs...other guy doesnt even mention us as in the mix What a joke these baseball reporters are

Ive followed and watched this kid throughout his whole entire career...as soon as i heard of the legend himself doing the damage he was doing in the minors, i knew we had a potential ace on our hands. Living in the city and working at the dome from 06-09, im happy to say ive been to a ton of his starts and was always in awe of his impressive arsenal. Watching the way he's pitched so far since his return, I'm telling you all that i honestly dont think ive ever seen him throw the ball as sharp as he has so far this season. I know its a small sample size and coming into the game as a reliever is quite different from being a starter, but the question with McGowan wasnt ever how good his stuff is...its whether he can control it and stay healthy. Take a look at what he's shown so far: His K rate is at an all-time high at 11.57/9 while his walk rate is at an all time low of 3.09/9. What makes this even more impressive is that his GB% has eclipsed 50% for just the second time in his career also setting an all time high at 53.8%. The quality of his pitches is what makes me most excited. The velocity of his fastball, slider and change are all career highs with his fastball now being registered at 95.1MPH on avg. During the games he has hit as high as 98. So the question here is what exactly do we have on our hands here? If healthy, is McGowan soon to be the top of the rotation starter that we thought he was destined to become years ago OR is he on the blink of becoming a top notch closer in the American League? What do you guys think? Should the organization play it safe and not try building him back into a starter in fear of risking injury or does an arm like this need to be stretched out and tested into a rotation? I think either way, its safe to say Dustin is back and he is poised to be an x-factor for this team moving forward

Personally, id love Garza on the Jays and I want to think that the price tag wont be as high as some people think...He has been injured for quite some time and he's a pending FA. Everyone assumes Sanchez, but i think they can possibly manuever their way out of that. AA has really seemed to be pumping Kevin Pillar's tires on air and in interviews lately. He might just be trying to sell him to another team by doing so. IMO, i think a package of Pillar and Nolin gets the conversation going with perhaps the kicker of a Jiminez...even to me i think that is too much The team could also get creative as well...perhaps trading Casey to a team in need of back end bullpen help like the Tigers or Dodgers. Perhaps an Asvali Garcia or Joc Pederson for Janssen and then flipping the prospect to Chicago for Garza I'd be excited about a Garza trade...gives us a head start over other teams in trying to get an extension done aswell I really think 2014 can be a playoff team if they make the right adjustments on offense and perhaps a nice little signing on the pitching FA market...Hutchinson should be a nice boost and Stroman aint looking to bad either...If you could have Dickey and Garza to work with to start then they might be in good shape

For all the preaching that I did over the winter with friends and colleagues, I really am taking it on the chin for how this season is playing out. I won't make mention about the offence as I feel the group is a top 5 unit with Reyes healthy. The obvious problem is the pitching as it has been a total disaster. - Dickey looks the part of a number 3 at best - Buehrle is extremely overpaid for what he is giving us. No more then a number 4 - Morrow looks lost - Romero is lost - JJ as been a total bust I'm curious to hear everyone's ideas as to how to fix this next year. I doubt we move Buehrle unless we eat a large portion of money. If that's the case, it's probably best to keep him around as a number 4 or 5. Dickey is fine as our three and the money he makes is quite reasonable for that...just sucks since we were counting on him to be our ace. Everything else is totally up in the air. What would you all do cause I don't have a single clue

Helped Brett Lawrie get Mark Derosa into maple leaf square yesterday to watch the Leaf game. Brett introduced me to Mark who then introduced me to a friend he was with who was no other then Pat Burrell. Saw that Burrell is a scout and assistant to the GM in San Fran. Perhaps checking out some Jays??? Who knows..just thought I'd pass that on