BlueJaysGirl

Except for 4/9 of the defense and 2/5 of the starting pitchers after the trades, sure same squad. We need to win 25 more games to have a shot for 2014. How do you propose we do that with maybe $25 - $30 more in payroll? Dude, wake up, it's time to white flag 2014 but win the long-term battle.

I get that for sure. I'd love it if the Jays signed Tanaka, too. Spend another $90M for 2014 to fill 3-4 glaring holes. But they won't and can't. What I don't want GM_AA to do is trade prospects and spend $30M of middling players with no upside. Then welcome to 2013 v2.

I think the Blue Jays have a great farm system, "A" and "AA" mostly. I want that kept intact. I don't want to see the farm depleted anymore for what is probably a fool's errand, trying to compete in the AL East in 2014. Crappy FA's are being signed for a ton, and we don't have the resources to keep up. And, there is buzz that the new Rogers CEO, who takes over in January, is a penny pincher, so whether we like it or not welcome to Interbrew ownership, 2.0 So, what *I* would do is the following for 2014... 1. Go with JPA and Thole at catcher, just like last year. Huh? What? I know. It hurts. But, JPA's value has never been lower. Hear me out. We hope he has the same spring he did last year and sustains it a little longer. Then, we trade him before the deadline to net more than we would right now. How much more? No idea. But then call up our in-house solution, Jimenez and see what he can do. Let him work the rest of the season. I propose this because I hate the idea of spending millions, or losing prospects, for some 2nd or 3rd tier, defensive specialist catcher who's going to bat .190 but work wonders with the pitching staff. Most accounts peg Jimenez as a solid catcher who works well with pitchers. We already have our solution. If he bats higher than the Mendoza line, great, he sticks and we have our solution without losing prospects or money, which we will need to mete our very smartly. 2. Go with Cabrera in LF. But like JPA, build his value up and trade him. Or, if he's stellar and worth a qualifying offer, keep him for the pick. But I suspect we could net more with a trade. 3. Trade Rasmus. He's great, young and has many tools. But we have Gose, who might be better if given a chance. So, If we can trade Rasmus, great, but I would only trade him for a young, controllable pitcher who is good right now, but has upside. 4. Go with Goins and Izturis as 2B. See if Goins can keep it going. His defense is stellar. I think, if given the season to play 80% of the time he'll acrue a 2.0 WAR. That's great for an in-house, cheap, solution. Hopefully Izturis can build up his value a little more and be traded for something. But I'd be okay with him on the bench. 5. Keep Gose and Sierra on the roster somehow. If Rasmus is traded, then this is easy. I think Gose will be a pleasant surprise if he's given the entire season and I think Sierra, who in my opinion truly has 5 tools, might mature and become impact. And, if he seems solid than do the following (don't hate me)... 6a. Trade Bautista before the deadline. GM_AA has the trade ninja skills to pull of a huge one. Rape someone's farm system AA, do it. 6b. Trade Happ before season. I think for prospects at this point. 7. In terms of pitchers, we ride with what we have. Assuming Rasmus has been traded for someone young and controllable, we plug and play the rest of the way. We go Morrow, Dickey, new guy (#3 above), Buerhle and someone else....my money's on McGowan. We have a bullpen stocked with out of options, effective, pitchers. Throw McGowan to the wolves and let him start. If he breaks, oh well, but if he's solid, yay! We have our man. I'm hoping Buerhle has another one of his automatic seasons, then we trade him (and eat some salary obviously) to a contender who needs some innings. I think this team might still be very entertaining, and still might sneak into a wildcard spot. Our farm is not only intact, but outstanding with the trades outlined. And in a couple of years we start to see those dividends pay off. I truly think this is the way to go. I mean come on guys, we can sign Ubaldo for 5-years, $90 million, but we all know that will fail miserably. Guys like Stroman and Hutchinson will be better, trust me, Last point, let's hope to fricking gawd there's a balanced schedule sooner than later. That would give us a way better chance. I'm assuming this is something that might happen after old man Selig retires.

Ruiz is a must. I do not want the Blue Jays to trade for a scrub catcher when they can overpay and get Ruiz for 2-3 years. If the Jays only signed on player this off season, I hope it's Ruiz. He'd make every pitcher better. Then we can see what we really have in pitchers like Jeffress and Rogers, whom I both think can be stellar if given a chance, and fostered with some good coaching and catching. I also like Kuroda, and the Blue Jays have contacted him. He'd be a great guy to over pay for two seasons. We'd only lose a second round draft pick. Not too shabby. If Stroman and Sanchez looks stellar in spring training, I hope they are considered for the rotation. Unlike most of you, I don't think we need an expensive (via trade or FA) 2nd tier starter or two to have a shot at playoffs. We have these young, effective arms on the farm. Give them a damn chance. And I don't care if there service clock starts early if they make the active roster out of ST. Nothing is more exciting than seeing some young arms from the system be effective in the majors. It gives the team a boost, shows that the club is developing players properly, and mostly, it's super cheap. Kawasaki is going to Japan apparently, there is much interest there by many clubs. He's not coming back. But I would take him in a haertbeat over Izturis, who I think is awful.