Slugger

I remember McGowan's debut. Wearing number 40 and we were all fapping.

I didn't realize he passed, that's terrible.

Hi, guys. I started watching the Blue Jays religiously in 2002. I was 12. I joined the Jays forum in 2005 still thinking RBI's and Pitcher Wins mattered. ECJF, boxcar, Grant, Gibbers, tercet, talletstache were all there. I graduated highschool, graduated college, lost grandparents, moved away from home. But my best buddy during the summer was always the constant; the Blue Jays. And here we are. The years of disappointment, the years of good but not great teams, players coming and going, hell we even got trolled off our own board but none of that matters now. Sport is powerful and I didn't realize how powerful until these last couple months. I feel like I'm accomplishing something but at the same time it feels like I have to go do something, something a little more important that I can't put my finger on it. It's bizarre. Then I remembered you guys, and this board. I know I never post anymore or rarely lurk but I'm still around, still bleed blue and still know that this board was sadly a huge part of my adolescent life. This was for us. Love you guys.

The pitching has been absolutely f*ckin' embarrassing. Even if the pitching was bad we'd still be over .500. I've never seen pitching this bad on this team...I think ever.

I don't wanna tell you guys that it's one game, but...

Yeah, that .330 OBP so f***in' useless.

I'm sorry to say; but some of you guys are absolutely out to lunch here.

Unbelievable trade. This makes 0 sense for Oakland, especially when you consider Donaldson has 1 more year of control. I'm reading the comments on TSN such as "this trade sucks" and I want to stab myself in the head. People are f***ing retards. "ZOMG!1!! LAWRIE WAS IN THAT COMMERCIAL HE MUST BE SEW GOOD!"

Now, I'm not a fan of RBI's by any means... But seeing Edwin finishing with 98 is a little annoying and giving me OCD.

First off, I would like to say that, in any clubhouse, the attitudes and character of players will be tested if you put them on a last place team or a team that's in a straight nose dive like the Blue Jays have been in. However, I think we're starting to see serious flaws in our clubhouse. Flaws that an acquisition can't hide, and when this kind of poison filters into the room it's almost impossible to get rid of without starting from scratch. The leaders on this team are the leaders, and that won't change as long as they're here. Do you think stripping Joe Thorton and Patrick Marleau of letters is going to change who the real leaders in that locker room are? Give me a break. There's absolutely no denying the kind of talent we have on this team but we're missing the intangibles. It's funny because I remember the exact same thing happening here before, except it was on the other side of the spectrum. Do you remember those good but not great teams during the JP era? Specifically '06-'08? That team was full of the plainest guys of all time and the common criticism around them was that they didn't have any fire, no flair, they were missing a spark plug, someone to stir the pot, etc. It was a room full of leaders that couldn't come up with a leader. A team full of guys with snug pants, no 3/4 sleeves or foot long wrist tape. But they played the game well, played fundamental ball. Nearly a decade later, we've swapped that for handshakes, eye black + shades on hat and an inability to catch and throw the ball. The team leader must be in the starting 9, he simply has to. Until this organization can find a balance between "playing the game the right way" and bat flips after home runs, we're going to be spinning our tires. My biggest fear is that our young players are going to get bad habits playing in a clubhouse with no accountability. Lawrie could be that balance but I'm not sure if he'll meet his potential without solid leadership. You need talent + leadership. One can't succeed without the other. What are your thoughts? Am I stoned?

Is this team for real defensively?

Alan Ashby.

Unfortunately, yes.

To be fair, he's an upgrade over JPA in every possible way. (Not saying much, I know.) He's actually performed higher than I anticipated. You guys want Victor Martinez circa '07, eh? Daaaaaaaamn, he was hot then.

You're not fooling me, Rogers. I know Alan Ashby's voice.

I don't know why I must retort posts like this...but. Do you mean the Troy Glaus you hit 38 homeruns and posted a .868 OPS in 2006? Or the same Vernon Wells who hit 32 homeruns and posted a .899 OPS that same year? Get a f***in' clue.

Yeah, buddy. How's it been?

You missed the entire point of my post. We collected assets as the core came into it's own and went for it when the opportunity came. The teams record and payroll are irrelevant.

I thought this board was started for rational baseball discussion? Not f***ing retards. Some of the things I've read in this thread are incredible. Some of you guys want the perfect team with the perfect GM, which is obviously a fantasy. AA doesn't deserve to be fired, at least not yet anyway. Everyone sucked this guys cock when he first came on board, hoarding assets, cutting fat from the roster, etc. He was doing a re-build better than the textbook. The problem/blessing is that something happened to AA that basically never happens to any GM; he won the lottery, twice. Two bench players turned into premier power hitters out of the blue, giving him a fairly impressive core to build from. When AA was presented with a massive trade that 99% of GM's would've pulled the trigger on (if it was financially feasible) he pulled it hard. Because that's what GM's are supposed to do; win right now. If you think the team wasn't at the very least improved on paper than you're delusional. He used assets that he collected over his first few years and traded them for proven major league talent. Now, I think I was one of the most hesitant people here. Yeah, it was really exciting and something I wasn't used too, but I was still hesitant. The year was of course was a disaster as injuries and down years from almost every player happened all at once. Is that AA's fault? All of a sudden we have an aging team with declining players and everyone sucks and yadda-yadda. I was disappointed no one was acquired in the off-season like every fan of every team is, but I understand that the Jays aren't in a trade "talent for talent" situation. However; it is ridiculous that AA couldn't beef up the bench, can't really defend that. But as far as bringing in an impact 2B? Long shot. There's also the fact that players might turn down Toronto. Just because you offer a deal, doesn't mean they're on their way and I can't believe I even have to verbalize that. The deadline this year? I found it absolutely absurd that the Blue Jays couldn't acquire Martin Prado. I heard cries that it would "take AB's away from Lawrie." in which I would say "Good." Lawrie is an excellent defender but is very overrated in general. I can't stand when people lump him in with the best players on the team, "Oh, wait until Lind and Lawrie come back." What? You mean the guy with the .700 ops? Sounds like maybe some politics in upper management, or maybe they simply didn't have the funds to get Prado. Either way, I was very disappointed. But to s*** on Hutch in his first full season? If the guy starts 30 games and posts an ERA under 4.50 we should be happy, if Stroman and Sanchez can finish the year strong, we should be happy. The biggest issue that plagued this organization for 2 decades was its absolute futility in drafting starting pitchers and with AA we have 3 on the same team, contributing. I'm not an AA apologist by any means but I am reasonable. To me, AA will last as long as Bautista and it's fitting as his emergence has totally shaped his tenure. Don't hate on the kids, don't hate the GM, but give s*** to the leaders on the field, to the guys counted on winning games. Hearing these guys deflecting blame or finding excuses is unacceptable and it infuriates me. "Now you know what Bautista was talking about." STFU and play baseball. If the team, which is supposed to be good, continues to suck, then yes...the circle of life continues and management falls. Besides, what would a replacement do? "Wow, we have a lot of good pieces here." (Acquires Johnny Gomes). /end rant

Are these f***ing hits for real? Opposite field hits hugging the line, bloops, general weak ********. f***!

Eh, this is like a play-off game. I'm not used to this s***, boys. Let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why in the f*** is he playing at 2B? You have arguably the best defensive 3 bagger in the game and you move him over to 2B when we already have 4 guys that can play that position. It makes no sense.

Ummm...I think it's time for Gibbons get in a tilly, boys.