nextyear

I don't know anything about PED's. If Colabello was caught or initially suspended on March 13th, pending appeal, as Angrioter posted, is it possible for the effect of the PED that he was taking to lose its effect that quickly? The PED that he was taking didn't seem to make him more muscular such as was the case with Barry Bonds.

To get back on topic. Can Colabello play in Korea or Japan while suspended from the MLB? (by play I don't mean play at a high level). I think Colabello's days in the MLB are over, who will want to give a chance to an underdog who has taken PED's: it is no longer a good story for any MLB team.

With Estrada pitching and Smaok in the lineup (and his high OBP) it looks like the Blue Jays have a good chance of winning tonight.

But Tulowitzki is cold, batting him number 1 means he will usually have an extra at bat each game. I much prefer have Saunders with an extra at bat some games.

Unfortunately, the choices for batting 5th are Tulowitzki then Martin, Collabello/Smoak or Pillar - there isn't really a better alternative at this point.

Right, it was Friday night. Yesterday's game was so forgettable that I forgot about it.

Does anyone know why Goins kept drawing what looked like the letter "T" in the dirt before each at bat yesterday? Although I am a Goins fan, that annoyed me; I think Goins should just quietly do his job without drawing attention to himself unless it is with a good defensive play or contributes offensively.

Good move to put Saunders first in the battle order. I think Pillar will eventually get hot but I would still prefer to see him bat # 8 or #7 when Thole is catching.

I think Saunders should hit # 1. I have noticed that Pillar will almost always swing at balls inside well off the plate. Maybe if Pillar moves back to 8th he won't be under so much pressure to get hits.

It is just a matter of time before Russel Martin starts to hit but I hope it will be soon. It is very early in the season but so far Russel Martin has 8 strikeouts in 16 at bats. If Russel had a .250 batting average, he would have 3 more hits and quite likely the Blue Jays would have at least one more win as a result, considering the close games that they have lost.

Greg Zaun on Tim & Sid sounds like Don Cherry.

Listening to Greg Zaun is starting to sound like listening to Donald Trump. He is bombastic just to be bombastic. Apparently the "punching Judy's" were responsible for the team getting 46 strikeouts in the series. Does that include Martin? Bautista had 3 today, Barney and Carrera had none. Start paying attention Zaun!

I am excited about following the Blue Jays right from the very first game this year. Last year was frustrating for the first few 4 months with Reyes as SS and Colabello/Carrera in LF; no lead seemed to be safe. The Blue Jays start the season with a solid infield and outfield defense and plenty of offense.

I would prefer that the club has flexibility with their payroll in 4 to 5 years to pay for producing players than to have it tied up in high priced, long term contracts that often hurt a team in the long run.

Maybe you are right, but I think that a Nelson Cruz type contract is justifiable with fewer years - http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2434&position=OF ; so I think 3 years at $15 million a year is tops for Edwin. In my opinion, Edwin is alright at 1B, however, that is the only position that he can really play so it limits the opportunities to rest Jose in RF and Tulowitzki at SS by giving them games at DH. I actually enjoy watching Edwin both on offense and at 1B, so I hope that he retires as a Blue Jay.

So you are arguing with me, but you agree that Bautista isn't worth $30 million a year for 5 years?

Actually I had already lost interest in hockey by that time, and I didn't miss it at all. I mainly watch the Stanley Cup playoffs and semi-finals if the teams are interesting. I think I just unintentionally paraphrased RealAccountant. The NHL has become boring; I think they need to do something to the sport, like maybe play 4 on 4 for the entire game.

So you are arguing that Bautista is worth $30 million a year for 5 years since Judge Judy made $45 million last year?

Have you ever had a job or are you living at home with your parents? Most people don't have contracts, once they stop being productive they get laid off. I know that once I stop being productive then I will be gone, and I accept that fact. This is incredibly stupid. Here is a list of average doctor salaries in the US - http://www.payscale.com/research/US/People_with_Jobs_as_Physicians_%2F_Doctors/Salary. I would say that almost every doctor is more valuable than someone who has been given the gift of being able to hit a baseball. Here is a list of salaries for world leaders - http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/10/news/economy/world-leaders-salaries/, Barrack Obama made $400,000 in 2015; do you want me to believe that Bautista's gift for being able to hit a baseball is 50 - 100 times more valuable than the ability of world leaders to be able to lead a country?

I hope Edwin stays in Toronto, however, what stands out to me in this story is Encarnacion has not had an at-bat this spring, missing time due to having a tooth pulled and then a strained oblique.. I am sure that the Blue Jays want Edwin Encarnacion to stay but it has to be a reasonable amount. Since he is primarily a designated hitter, I think 3 years at $10 million/year would be reasonable.

Many people expect Bautista to be poor defensively and on a decline offensively by the 4th and 5th year of a 5 year contract due to his age. If Bautista really expects to be a top producer in 4 years time then he can show his confidence by signing a 3 year contract and then renew at a top amount in 3 years time. I could see 3 years at $25 million a year, but even this seems like a ridiculous amount for someone whose primary talent is being able to hit a baseball.

It appears that almost no one on this board is accepting $30 million a year for 5 years for Bautista. The fans seem to have spoken - Bautista can go elsewhere. After the 1994 season, many fans just stopped watching baseball, and I was one of them; for many years I had almost zero interest in the MLB. I see no reason why Blue Jay fans should support Bautista's greed and it seems like they aren't - where is the overwhelming support for the Blue Jays to pay Bautista what he wants? PS: Can anyone imagine Bautista doing something like this - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/p-k-subban-montreal-canadiens-children-s-hospital-1.3230086

Explain.

Personally I have no interest in watching any player who makes $30 million dollars a year; in my opinion it is the equivalent of watching someone eat a dozen donuts a day, it is simply the financial equivalent of gluttony. If Jose Bautista really wants $30 million a year for 5 years then I hope the Blue Jays will trade him ASAP. The league minimum in 2016 is $507,500; I bet that 999 out of 1000 of the people on this forum would be extremely happy with that salary. Mainly for this reason, I like players like Goins, Colabello, Pillar, Osuna, and Sanchez who are good players who haven't been spoiled by extravagant salaries.

Once again this thread is relevant. With Darwin Barney on the roster and Devon Travis coming back, what happens if Goins gets off to a great start at the plate and shows his usual defensive ability at 2nd base, it will be interesting to see. It appears that Goins has been working on his batting, and base running speed in the off-season. He has been in Florida, training, since early in January 2016. (source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-goins-looking-to-reach-new-heights-in-2016/) Blue Jays’ Goins looking to reach new heights in 2016 . . Goins has been in Florida since shortly after the new year, working frequently with private hitting instructor Bobby Tewksbary, the same man Josh Donaldson and Chris Colabello credit with helping dramatically improve their swings. Goins hasn’t made any substantial mechanical changes to how he handles the bat, but he does feel like he has a better understanding of what his body’s doing in the batter’s box, and how to take a better path to the ball. . . Goins simply has to get on base, something he was doing with much more regularity over the back half of 2015. He’d also like to steal bases when he does get there, and worked on improving his speed this offseason with Olympic sprint coaches and even Carlin Isles, the American rugby sevens player widely considered the fastest man in his sport. The Blue Jays may not give him the opportunity to do so, but he’d at least like to pose the threat. . .