Flashman

Have you ordered your copy of Capital in the Twenty-First Century as yet?

- doing better than last year - it's still only April - Lind and Janssen missing - nobody running away with the division - it's going to be tight this year - normally in 8th inning games with 1 out and in rainy conditions, Santos has a ZXFipERA of 0.014 etc etc

1. Nobody is denying Stroman is ready. 2. Right or wrong, the org set the bar at a decent amount of innings and a chance to win from McGowan. He'll get another start.

*Into the seventh. Not debating the control...

McGowan has earned another start. 7 IP, two runs - take that. Don't want to see Stroman up until there's a crystal clear need. If Stroman replaces McG and gets lit up in his first couple of starts then a discussion will take place - no need for that.

That's understandable. It is especially tough if you watch an unpopular sport, which could really do with the money and support, only to find an entire nation get behind a team if there's a shot at glory. But it is what it is. I'll admit that I tune into something like Andy Murray nailing the Olympic gold or Wimbledon championship, despite no interest in tennis; but I'd be peeved if tennis aficianados took umbrage at me for even engaging. Most of us are guilty of this to some degree. Let's take the Olympics. Sport take-up in the UK dramatically increased after the London Olympics. It didn't just help make the nation fitter, it has also created new supporters of sports like judo and cycling. You don't make fans and champions without exposure to the sport in the first place. I agree. The strategy was short-sighted. Yep. Every time. You're hurting your own aims here. If casual fans come to you to start talking about baseball, then it is a great opportunity to educate and enlighten them about the nuances of the game. You can explain to them the joy of watching baseball even during the lean times. You get to be the authority. Some people learn about baseball (or any sport) through the internet and books and general self-teaching; but many learn the fundamentals from friends and family and other mentor figures.

A fan base is dynamic; it can grow and shrink. Manchester United's current fan base is much bigger than it was 20 years ago. This is the nature of sport. A nation will take the day off and root for a rugby team if they reach the World Cup final. But some casual fans can become hardcore fans - that's what growing the fan base is all about. It would be a poorly run franchise/team/club that didn't have marketers and planners to increase that base. That's the trick. If the team is doing well consistently, then the fan base will remain consistently big. The Yankees and Red Sox had drop-offs in decades past, while the Jays had more people going through the gates in the 90s than any other team. And somewhat tangentially - if you are a hardcore fan of a sport, that's great. It represents a hobby as much as anything else. But there are a lot of people out there with jobs, families, friends, commitments, and other hobbies who just can't find the time to be as devoted to the sport as many of us are. The casual fan shouldn't be demonised - they should be understood. They play a huge part in making any franchise successful.

I'm willing to cut him some slack as he was rushed into the rotation on the back of a sliver of a spring training. There seems to be little harm in the experiment at this point, anyhow. Redmond and Happ haven't distinguished themselves, and I think most would want Stroman to have a bit more seasoning in the minors. At least McG's arm is feeling strong, so we know we've got a good bullpen arm there if the starting doesn't work out over the next two or three weeks.

Perhaps not, but they would know when to apostrophise its

But reports said that the Jays did reach an agreement with Santana.

Thing is, the Jays have come out with all sorts of conflicting information over the years about protecting McGowan. First it was gently-gently relief, then he got injured again. Then they said it might be in his best interests to have the consistent innings of a starter. Then back to relief again. Then they toy with him being a starter this off-season, now Gibbers is back to saying reliever. I think a lot of us were behind McGowan as he rehabbed, not just because of his talent but also admiration for his persistence. But it's got to that point now where he's earned his big payday, he's 32, and we're all going to be on tenterhooks no matter what. I don't think anybody who has followed his recovery can have any confidence in any kind of role/training regimen. Just gotta throw him out there and see if he sinks or swims. And if he'd rather die as a starter, so be it.

Casual fans are annoyed because last year's team, which was so evidently sub-par, has not been significantly upgraded. It really is that simple.

This is not down to the casual fans. There is no excusing it: AA has had five years to build a contender, with a Halladay trade to kick off any rebuild and a substantial payroll to support him. He owns this.

Nobody is saying his right to get the best deal should be revoked. Nor, I imagine, does anybody have a problem with a player/worker striving to achieve as much as possible. But f***, this is a dollar-hungry shitshow. Turns down a qualifying offer of $14m, which is decent AAV, knowing full well he has a draft pick attached to him. Then there's talk of $100m, limiting his market in a huge way. Then there's the one year deal and the 10p deadline. Then there's no deadline. Then there's Santana's reps getting in touch with everyone despite two solid offers matching his demand being on the table. All the while he's losing valuable conditioning and coaching time in spring training. I mean, at this point, surely any difference between the original QO and what he settles for will be negligible. When you have a multimillionaire like Santana scratching around for an extra few percent over the course of six months, well, what other term are you left with but 'greed'? It's not an appealing thing to see go down.

Wilner has nobody to blame but himself. Have you read the transcript of that infamous press scrum? Wilner was trying to humiliate Cito. It wasn't enough that he had a popular blog and radio slot and Twitter presence in which to inform and educate the fans about Cito's uselessness, he had to try to cut him down in front of the Toronto media. Anyone who followed his stuff knew this was a long time coming. He has an ego the size of a planet and will demean, admonish, manipulate and even be hypocritical in order to seem like the smartest guy in the room. Not an endearing personality, and a google search for his name will confirm he is not fondly thought of. The frustrating thing is that he is a brighter baseball guy than anyone else in the Toronto media, but he has never harnessed it into top-notch professional broadcasting. That ego keeps getting in the way, and the Cito shitshow was a check that he needed.

The Halladay trade provided a kinda immunisation. After Doc left, no trade will ever be hard again.

Doesn't add up. Boras doesn't do any teams any favours -- he's an agent. As such, his job is to make the most money for his client and, implicitly, himself. He'd be a poor and likely unique agent if he turned down the best offer just because it was coming from the Jays. What's more, the Jays are one of the teams with a big chequebook; if he doesn't involve them in the mix with his clients, he's losing leverage at the very least. Boras may be sore about the Paxton thing, but surely the best way to strike back is to lumber the Jays with a heavy contract than to hurt your own business.

His latest: http://blogs.thescore.com/djf/2013/07/23/aaron-cibias-a-twitter-quitter/ "I can’t say that I blame him, though, and the funny thing is, J.P. Arencibia is literally better at baseball than any of the limp dicks s***ing on him are– or will be– at anything in their entire f***ing lives. Of the tens of million who play baseball globally, at any given time the number of players on an active big league roster is just seven-hundred-and-f***ing-fifty." Nice argument ...

Sure, that's possible. But with that said, Buehrle is in his 13th season of MLB; you'd think he'd be a deft handler of the media by this point, and wouldn't send out messages that could be misinterpreted.

That could be loaded with context. A consistent veteran like Buehrle knows exactly what he is. Perhaps this was aimed at ... flashier ... quarters of the team.

You should have no reason to hate to break it to me. If that's the case, and you are a reliable source, that's the case and I'd be happy to concede the point.

I think that's a meaningless ad hom.

Considering I have strongly criticised Arencibia multiple times on this forum, that makes for a redundant slight. I am not defending the on-field product one bit. The argument, which only lasts a page or so, was about defending Beeston's record from seriously irrational criticisms, one of which was the implication that the Jays are stat-averse.

Doesn't matter either way. The root of this discussion was Olerud's reasons to hate on Beeston, one of which was the insinuation that the Jays would rather go with the counsel of Cito than have stat guys in-house. The money quote: "He [sartori] also works with team statistician Joe Sheehan, providing statistical analysis and interpretation that helps the organization make better decisions on players and game situations."

I'm not doubting the reasons for the trades. I am saying that it's a little silly to suggest that there has been pandering to the casual fans when clearly it has been years of rebuilding.