nutz003

I am not under the impression that Shapiro sets payroll. Obviously ownership sets the payroll, but Atkins has stated on more than one occasion that $$$ is not an issue to fill their needs. If this is true then that implies ownership will pony up to put a WS calibre team on the field, thus it would be Shapiro/Atkins who are not willing to spend that money. People can say what they want about teams like the Yankees over spending on FA over the last couple of decades. They also have 5 World Series victories since our las one, and the Red Sox have 3. The thing with spending big money on Free Agents is that you can field a winning team, while still stocking your cupboards with prospects.

No, I am annoyed at the fact that there seems to be no killer instinct with Shatkins. Toronto generally does have to overpay to get guys to come here, so at this point if there is a player they want then yes I think they have to go a bit over the top to get them. There is after all no salary cap in MLB, just the one that ownership and management imposes, which Atkins keeps saying $ is not an issue to fill their needs. We should be in on things like going after a Kenly Jansen, because at this point if you acquire a guy like that you know when the game hits the 8th inning it is over with him and Osuna, and the other team knows it is over too. I don't think it is fair to this fanbase if we take a step back this coming season. I feel like a number of the people here either were too young to remember or not born when the Jays won their 2 Championships, because if they had experienced the euphoria of those victories and understood what it was like to see their team win a World Series they would understand that the opportunity in front of us the next couple of seasons is not something to be squandered. 1 World Series victory would be worth having to start over and build up for the next several seasons. Anyone who says otherwise has never experienced this team winning one before.

What I am annoyed by is that the offers they seem to put forth (and we seem to hear about them all) are low enough that they know they will not be accepted (or at least they should realize they won't). Fowler seemed to be a guy they really wanted who fit the bill for what they are looking for and they offer him 4 years $60 million, but not enough to get the job done. If they had ponied up to the $18 million per year that was his asking price they possibly could have sealed the deal earlier before the Cards were in the picture. With EE they knew he wouldn't accept 4yrs $80 million w/o testing the market. His market is down and you could probably get him for that or less now, but I honestly don't think the intent was to ever have him back. We will make up for his production with 3 Steve Pearce's instead.

This isn't about strictly Fowler. It is about the way they go about their business in general.

We are in a position now where we have a legitimate chance at a World Series the next two seasons if we fill a couple of needs properly. If we want to rebuild our farm with top level talent than significant trades are probably out of the question, so that leaves Free Agency to fill our needs while this window is still open. I am sorry, but after being a loyal fan from before they won their 2 World Series' and sticking by them through the following 22 years, and finally seeing this city (heck country) and fanbase renergized by a return to prominence I am not OK with their big picture vision at this point. After we win a World Series while we still have Donaldson, teardown restructure, do whatever you want, but for godsakes down squander this opportunity to win now after all this time.

I told myself I would reserve judgement on this management group until after their first season, and I know it is still early this offseason, but it is really starting to feel like this management group likes to shop in the clearance aisle only. I mean there are token offers on big name guys that are enough to say they tried, but not enough to land anybody of significance, and then when EE's price point is down, it's the that ship has sailed routine. We were pinching pennies on trying to land Fowler. St. Louis doesn't F-around and gets the player they want. Good organizations like the Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox generally do that. They made shrewd rotational moves last offseason that panned out, but it is a lot to expect that kind of production again this year top to bottom. Our organization has made a boat load of money, but management seems afraid to spend any of it. Boston has just manned up in a big way, and the Yankees are starting to rearm. We have a two year window. It is time Shatkins realizes they aren't in Cleveland anymore and that they there is no need to pinch a nickel so hard you squeeze the s**t out of the beaver. Spend some money and fill our needs properly. I am sorry, but Morales and Pearce (although I don't mind either of them as players) are not an adequate replacement for Bautista and EE.

Emergency backup sleeper account? Lol. What is that anyway? And if you have one you have way too much time on your hands and need to leave the Internet once in a while. Lol. Your post is almost as hilarious as the Good Will Hunting guy's.

Are you that guy from Good Will Hunting who quotes Vickers by any chance? You know the arrogant one who thinks he's smarter than everyone else, wears a sweater vest, probably named Lance, and repulses every woman he sees by his: arrogance, social ineptitude, and uncanny ability to irritate everyone in a room.

The Orioles Hangout is hilarious. I found this post particularly funny as it acknowledges our superiority. "This is painful to watch and it doesn't figure to get any easier.Injuries, ineptitude, and some bad luck have really put this team into a tailspin.I don't see anything on the horizon that can pull us out right away. The Yankees are coming off back to back sweeps of the Rays and Tigers. They are better than us and so are the Jays.Red Sox back to Baltimore tomorrow night. Not a good thing."

Thought the story was great read. It is interesting to get lowdown on how they were able to get him.

Deadpool is right, if we can win today and walk away from the first two series against al east opponents with a 2-1 record in each I will take it. Sanchez had a rough go out there, but the bats and the defense were brutal as well with the exception of a couple nicely turned dps. In the next couple of starts we'll know if he is better off in the rotation or the pen. Regardless they should maybe stretch Osuna out, to start if need be until Santana is ready, or I think they have look to try and go out and see if they can make a deal for someone if Sanchez continues to shite the bed as a starter. Wins are to valuable to throw away every 5th game. Here's hoping Sanchez rebounds in his next couple of starts and all is well. It would be nice to see the kid succeed and do well.

He seemed to handle the pressure pretty well yesterday....but you may be right, if he starts to not hit well there then bump him back down the order.

1) Reyes 2) Bautista 3) Donaldson 4) EE would be pretty sweet. I like Reyes in the 1 spot just because when he is on base it gives that SB threat for the pitcher to worry about on top of those guys at the plate. Reyes on base can cause the pitcher to make some mistakes, and you cannot afford mistakes against those 3.

It would be nice to see all the young guys have a shot at making the rotation next spring, rather than being pre-cast into a role. If the Jays are going to continue next year with the same philosophy regarding prospect promotion/management, then if Osuna, Castro or Hoffman deserves to be there, I think they should earn the spot regardless as to whether someone started the previous year or not. The best overall arms should be in the rotation pitching 150-200+ innings, rather than 60-100 in the pen. Their rotation is going to be scary 2-3 years down the road if they let the guys who should start actually start.

Thanks JFaS!

Does anyone know what the average traditional and advanced statistics for a Starting Pitcher and the Offensive Statistics for a Position Player/DH were in MLB last year? I have a rough idea, but I just thought it might be useful to have an accurate stat-line to gauge Jays performance at the plate and on the mound as compared to the MLB average.

Just curious on the thoughts of others here as to whether or not you think the Jays pushing the young guys through the system into majors more quickly could be a factor that works in their favour with the July 2nd signings. If the money is close between them and someone else, say the Dodger's, on someone like Alverez, do you think the possibility of getting to the Bigs quicker if you show the goods would be a tipping point in the decision?

5 1/3 ip, 4h, 3bb, 3er, 4k

Where do you think the payroll limit would be at today without the trade?

No I think other payroll would have been added, but not an extra $50 million in payroll. My guess is that today it would probably be in the $110 million range, not $140 million.

What do you think increased the attendence and profit that year? The hype created by the aquisitions, more people in the seats to see a team that was remade, jersey sales of new players, etc. You don't think this was part of the reason they allowed such a dramatic increase to occur? They had to have figured it would payoff for them.

I am just wondering without the trade would payroll have been allowed to go as high as it has. Did the trade precipitate the an even higher increase in payroll than would have been allowed otherwise, given that ownership must have felt they had a shot at, at least making the playoffs and possibly more. The cause is the trade allowing greater spending (salaries of players in the deal, Dickey whom the likely wouldn't have traded for without the deal, Cabrera) which put their payroll in uncharted territory for the Jays in terms of spending. The effect being the fact that they are working with a $140 million payroll today, instead of an $80 million, $100 million or even $110 million dollar payroll. Would they be in the position that they are now, which is to have a $120 million payroll and to continue to add upwards of $20 million in additional players.

The Marlins trade with the Jays is a highly debated topic. I am just curious on people's thoughts on what they think the Blue Jays spending limit would be on payroll today if that deal never happened. I think it was in the $80 millions at that point, and the deal caused ownership to open the pocket books to a $ amount they hadn't previously reached, one can assume, because they thought the deal made them an instant contender, which pushed payroll up to around $130 million. $50 million is a very substantial increase. Would we be anywhere near that range without the trade?

24 years ago today the Jays traded for Joe Carter & Roberto Alomar off the Padres for McGriff & Fernandez. Here's hoping the aquisitions being made this offseason put them back into the playoffs to end the drought.

And this off season the credit he should get for the move he didn't make may be not signing Melky. I was one who hoped that he would resign him, but seeing the Saunders/Happ deal and the money saved in the difference in Saunders' salary as opposed to what Melky would have got and the difference between it and Happ's opens up a number of other signings to improve the ball club while still getting a good left fielder. I think Wilner said that the difference could look like for the same money: Melky Cabrera and Jay Happ or Michael Saunders, Draft Pick, 2nd Basemen, 2 Relievers and DH