glory

Yeah, the only way the Jays have a chance against the O's is if they win 6 or 7 of their remaining head-to-head games. Unfortunately, the WC is very lumped together.

I find it very hard to believe that "God" would be a Jays fan given what has happened to this franchise the last two decades.

Never underestimate the power of MLB when it comes to helping the Yankees. Jeter's final season would make a great playoff story, in terms of ratings and fan interest. Be very afraid of the Yankees.

Good lord, just blow it up already if you're not going to spend any further! Bautista for Oscar Tavaras/Carlos Martinez, Edwin for something (from the Indians maybe?), etc, etc. All of this window dressing just to distract from the inevitable (Alex's firing) is a huge time waster.

Agreed. I don't necessarily think Gibbons is the problem, but it is disappointing to me that the last two times the Jays went for it (2006-08, 2013) it was with Gibbons as manager and both times the team underachieved. Cito Gaston got a team with Roy Halladay and a bunch of below replacement level scrubs to win more games in a tough division in 2009 than the 2013 and probably 2014 teams will win in a much more balance division (at least this year). At some point you stop admiring his use of platoons and start wondering why all of his teams don't live up to expectations. It's certainly not all of his fault, and in this year's case it's entirely on Alex (or Rogers) for not adding to the team, but I'm sick of having a good manager that doesn't win, while a guy who sleeps in the dugout like Cito can get 85 wins out of a team that wanted to rebuild. I know I'm going to get heat for this, as "manager doesn't matter" and all that jazz, but whatever. Fire Alex, Beeston, and Gibbons. Don't rebuild, just retool and get a manager with some form of track record to come in (like Cleveland did with Francona).

The Yankees next 10 games are against the s***** Rangers SEVEN! times and the Jays three times. They could go on a mini run as well. If the Jays offense gets healthy and Reimold is their 4th OF, I could live with that. But they need to get health damn quick and keep their heads above water until then.

After going 11-24 in a 35 game stretch, the Jays created this urgency. If they even went 15-20 in that stretch, they would have been 1st in the East right now. Unfortunately every series becomes vital because of that, and the margin of error becomes non-existant.

The 2nd wild card is too crowded with similar teams. I think the East is far more attainable since there are so many head to head games where with some luck (and we will need it) the Jays can control their own fate. But yes, the Mariners are flawed, and the Yankees are flawed and hurt. If Tampa and Boston can stay below .500, then the main challenge for that 2nd WC is Cleveland. It's up for grabs. However, I still think the East is far more attainable.

Man, does Navarro have to bat behind Bautista? If JPA wasn't so bad last year, Dinner would be getting far more flack for being a bad baseball player. Against RHP with this lineup, put Rasmus behind Bautista. At least there is a chance Colby can belt one out.

I don't know, I think Guerrero may be able to hit in the Majors. As well as Reyes depends on which Reyes were talking about. Reyes in his prime? Absolutely not. Reyes from 2014-18? That's far more realistic. EIther way, just trying to think of ideas to get rid of Reyes while getting some middle infield talent back. I think Reyes is well on his way to becoming Vernon Wells for us, if he isn't already. The sooner they dump him, the better.

Trade Reyes somewhere (Tigers?) and trade for Alexander Guerrero from the Dodgers. Put Guerrero at 2B and Kawasaki at short (platoon him with Tolleson). Saves money and maybe adds some upside if Guerrero's bat can play in the Majors.

Poor ice.

The Jays have a good chance of making it just because the teams ahead of them are beatable. Whether they can sustain the offensive injuries and pitch well enough to win is another story. I think the break will do them some good , but they need to come out guns blazing on Friday. They won't duplicate May any time soon but they need to go on a good run.

I'm not arguing that his 2012 spending was bad. It was. I'm saying he never made a single follow-up move with the exception of Navarro, which proves either he's a moron who thought Goins at 2B, two rotation spots unfilled, and Sierra on the bench was going to push them to contention, or he didn't have the capability of making further moves. Again, is there a well run high payroll team out there that spends an entire off-season doing nothing but minor league signings and waiver pick-ups? You can choose not to answer the question if you want, or choose to throw insults for no reason, but I'll save you the trouble and tell you that you'd be wrong (again) if you suggested that a will run team (ownership and GM) would operate like that. A quick summation: everything is within the GM's control. Which answer best describes your opinion: A) AA's moves this off-season were meant to improve the roster. AA's moves this off-season were not meant to improve the roster. If your answer is A, then you're delusional. A GM looking to save his ass is not going to spend all winter signing minor league free agents and waiver pick-ups. He'd be doing something, anything, to improve the MLB roster within the limitations of payroll. That's logical. So why didn't Alex do anything? You are clearly implying that the roster construction lay entirely at his feet, so explain to me how he felt signing nothing but minor leaguers and a s***** catcher was his way of improving the team…..one freakin' winter after trading about a dozen prospects for expensive experienced vets? Is Alex bipolar? He wants to hoard assets one season, spend recklessly the next, and then do nothing the year after that? Most likely that his hands were tied. I'll get to it below. That's not insane thinking when it has happened twice in five years. Yes, I am flat out suggesting that Rogers tied the hands of the GM. Ricciardi did not make any MLB transactions in the 2009 off-season. Not a single one. Everyone he signed was on a minor league deal. He signed all his arby eligible players, then signed nothing but MiLB deal. He was fired at the end of that season. Fast forward to 2014. Alex signs a catcher to a deal that he himself admitted was identical to what JPA would have made in arbitration, and then nothing but minor league signings and waiver claims. He'll probably be fired after this season, barring a playoff appearance. So please explain to me, since you are so sure that my position is wrong, why did two almost identical modes of behavior happen within five years and not once is the ownership group responsible for it? Was it a weird coincidence? Are you that naive? Yes, because the Rolen and Rios moves happened in the off-season, and Millar and Dellucci were MLB deals. Read. Please. Dodging an argument by insinuating that you're arguing with a crazy person is both a time waster and proof you are also crazy (a sane person wouldn't argue with a crazy one). On that note, we are running in circles here. When Alex is fired, payroll is reduced after the season, and the new GM hypes up a brand new rebuilding phase that ends prematurely, we can rekindle this argument about how great Rogers is. So, I'll see you in about four years.

The Marlins trade really was the death of the Bautista Era. If that trade never happens, then the Dickey trade never happens, and the whole dynamic changes, short and long term.

Oh, I'm positive ownership did not trust Alex with extra money. I keep mentioning 2009 because that was the year they lost faith in JP and the same thing happened (seriously, it's almost identical). This entire season was an excuse to fire AA. My point is, if they wanted to win, they should have added. If they wanted to get a new GM and scale back, then they should have done it. They didn't do anything, which is a waste of a season, a waste of the prime years of your best players, etc. Halladay knows how a season like this feels.

Just to make my point more clear, I think Alex is responsible for this roster and current position. He deserves to get railed for it. All I'm saying is there is enough inconsistencies in the way this team has operated the last two years to suggest that ownership has meddled, especially this off-season as it mirrors 2009 so much it is scary. Ownership should have a consistent vision. Don't increase payroll at all if there isn't going to be a consistent uptick annually. They were better off with a small budget in that case.

What money did he spend in the off-season? Navarro's salary was what they expected JPA's arbitration figure to be (per Alex himself). Other than that, what money was spent? The payroll increased because of the existing backloaded contracts. You know, the ones Rogers approved of last year. You dodged or misunderstood the question. How many well run high payroll teams do NOTHING in an off season? I'm not talking about shedding salary, or increasing salary. I'm talking about nothing but minor league deals and waiver pick ups? It's amusing because you have no evidence to support your claims either. You are assuming Alex making nothing but minor league deals and waiver pick ups was his idea of improving the team, which is insanely stupid. Why didn't Alex shed payroll if there was a payroll ceiling? Why didn't he make lateral moves to improve areas without increasing payroll? Why didn't JP Ricciardi make a single MLB transaction in 2009 (the year they fired him)? All the answers to those questions, apparently are devoid of ownership involvement. Makes complete sense. You are way off base here. I'm not absolving Alex of blame. He should be blamed. I'm saying the last two years, contrary to blinders warn by ownership backers, had Rogers fingerprints over it. You can choose to not believe it, that's up to you. You are just as clueless to the inner workings of the team as I am. We are all guessing. reality in this case, especially since the same damn thing happened in 2009, doesn't back your assertions. Rogers doesn't seem to run logically.

How many of the well run teams would jack up payroll by some $40M one off-season , then do absolutely nothing the next? How many of the well run teams would freeze payroll and not allow MLB transactions (Navarro aside) in an off season not once but TWICE in the last five years? Remember in 2009 when the off season was pretty much digging up the corpses of Millar, Clement, etc? Rogers is a terrible owner. Yes, they increased payroll. However, is it not common sense to have a 2-3 year plan to strategically bump payroll to account for existing backloaded contracts and improving the team? The last time Rogers acted like this, they were firing JP Ricciardi. Alex has saved himself for at least another month or so by the team playing better than expected, but they could have been first place right now if Alex added talent in the off season. Before you blame Alex for that, who benefits more by not spending, the owner or the GM?

Beeston talked about spending money when the time was right, yet the chose the season after a 73 win season to do it. I have to believe Rogers was behind the spending. Maybe not the players necessarily, but I think they wanted to create a buzz after the 2012 season fell flat.

Wow. The same ownership group that didn't allow a single MLB transaction other the swapping the expected arbitration raise of JPA and giving it to Dinner Navarro is now going to let two impending FA's go? Totally didn't see that coming. Next we will find out that the options for Santos, Morrow, and Happ won't be picked up People here hate AA, and while I'm not a big fan of his, I hate Rogers co. more.

If the Jays are smart, they will dangle Dickey and Reyes in trade talks this month. Reyes in particular is in Vernon Wells status. Dude is toast defensively, and offensively he is never going to reach his peak years again. Sell dammit. Reyes for Hanley, then play Hanley for two months and let him walk. Save $22M just like that without hurting 2014.

The Orioles post All-Star stretch is pretty brutal; a ten game road trip against Oakland, the Angels, and Seattle, followed by home games against the Angels and M's, before what hopefully is an important series in Toronto. The Jays have to hold their heads above water by the break. Two games back or less.

Wow. People actually believe this club will add someone by anything other than waiver claims or minor league deals? You guys have more faith than me.

I was thinking Dickey for Nick Franklin+, but then we would have no one to replace Dickey. Maybe Dickey and Thole to Seattle for Franklin and Maurer, and then Maurer to Arizona for McCarthy. Essentially, Dickey for McCarthy and Franklin. Probably a net positive and cost saving as well.