I figure next to King Hernandez, arguably one of the best young arms in baseball, Snider, Cecil, and Richmond are so so prospects..Snider has a chance to be a great hitter but you just can’t replace an arm like his..

The Mariners would be foolish to get rid of this guy..They have been patient for 5 season’s waiting for a year like this..He is the most dominating pitcher in the AL..No way he goes for any of the players on the Jays roster not named Hill and Lind..But it would be nice..

Bay and Figgins cost draft picks not drafted prospects..They will get a few picks back when they let go of Scutaro..

MW: Next to Felix Hernandez, any prospect falls short, but you’re not going to do much better on the prospect front than Cecil and Snider.

But, what I meant was that the raptors went out and got a gm who somehow can say “THAT was a bad idea. Change of plan.” After producing a division champion, which then turned into a miserable failure, Colangelo and Co., instead of blaming market and injuries, blew up the darn thing and is trying a new plan. One that may or may not work, but one that has a clear directive. Also, it’s nice to actually see a franchise from Torornto actually get the better end of a trade from time to time. That hasn’t happened with the Jays since the Gillick days (I still remember where I was for “The Trade” and for those of you who are too young, that means the McGriff and Fernandez for Alomar and Carter). And even Gillick was able to admit defeats AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, like in the following year when he acquired Darrin “Dud” Jackson for future allstar Derek Bell and then flip him later for Fernandez to win another WS.

Look, is Colangelo the answer in raptorland? or burke in leafland? who knows. But they are trying, being creative and have the know how and respect around the league not to be shut out of deals and can in fact instigate them. (And with all the criticism Burke gets for being a media pig, I’ve yet to see him mismanage the media the way ricciardi seems to constantly…proposed phils trade, anyone?)

Wow. Long. Sorry. So yeah, respected GM would be nice. Or, someone ballsy like you…please put in your resume. It’s an internal hire. You’ll work for the same salary, I’m sure.

MW: They wouldn’t dare hire me. As for Colangelo, I see what you’re saying - but why is it that with J.P. all the pundits say that general managers don’t get a second chance to rebuild, and yet Colangelo is rebuilding for a second time in three years?

WOW! If JP made a deal like that everyone would be out make him mayor of Toronto. With all due respect Mike, I see that as not enough for the Mariners to move him. Someone like Doc would have to be involved and that would not help the Mariners payroll at all.

This guy is only 23 years old reminds me of Dwight Gooden with respect to his power. He is also only one of 40 MLB pitchers to have struck out 3 batters on 9 pitches in one half ining of work. If this guy gets a slider happening with his 2 seamer fast ball - look out!

I think Boston has a much better chance of reeling this guy in.

Perfect - the anti-spam security word of `rant` fits right into the rest of my comments.

No matter what the Jays do this off season, they can`t improve a lot without the number one change they need to make and that is Cito. Just knowing he will be back in 2010 tells you the Jays will be shooting for 2011 to make some moves.

When an organization like Rogers goes public to tell all they are committed to their ball team - more than once, it usually means a deal is in the works to do just the opposite or to sell.

I don`t know why, but my gut says Beeston sticking around for the full season and not coming up with a new president means he may be part of a group along with Gillick to buy the Jays! Or he and Gillick have a deal that Beeston sticks around this season in order for Gillick to come on board in 2010.

All the talk of spending big dollars, free agents and trades has been around a while. The opposite has been happening already. However, in my book the existing line up is not that far away from contending as is with of course some minor tweaking and the resurgence of Wells in particular and an improved more agressive Overbay at the dish. With a genuine field boss the Jays of 09 could easily have at the very least another dozen or more games in the win column.

I know the pundits say the manager alone can get you 5 or 6 more wins with the right moves etc. In Citos` case that should have been about triple that as to extra wins! If he had handled his pitchers, his batting line-up, his bench and managing against NL teams better, the Jays would have looked a lot better in the W-L column. No matter what, Cito did not give his team a chance to win every game.

His comment the other day, about how he treated every player in the room the way he would like to have been treated says it all! Someone needs to tell Cito, managing an MLB team is not a popularity contest! Unfortunately for the fans Cito plays it that way only!

Thanks Mike and keep up the good work! Nice to see you taking more time off from the blog this summer. That`s gotta be good for your mental well being.

MW: It has helped, no doubt. I don’t think that Cito’s questionable managing has cost the team THAT many games, but yes, he has to go.

Love your ideas, but I still don’t see hardy being an upgrade from scutaro…that’s besides the point.

The POINT, is that nothing this great can happen with JPR running the franchise. With Godfrey out of the picture, is JP finally out of the picture? Would you submit a resume? You don;t have to answer the last one.

The Jays need to do what the Leafs and Raptors have finally figured out: GO AND HEADHUNT A TOP TIER GM, MANAGER and STAFF. It’s a strategy they haven’t tried. How much would it cost to go and steal Dave Duncan out of St. Louis to be the pitching coach? How much would it cost to steal Ron Gardenhire as manager? To lure Gillick back or Mozliak, or Jocketty or Schuerholtz or Wren?

Otherwise speculating on off season moves is pure fantasy. 120 mllion wil instead be spent on someone like Frank Thomas or just add it to Vernon’s contract.

MW: The Raptors have a top tier coach and staff? I didn’t realize.

Purcey + Janssen + Farquhar/Gonzalez, circa 2009…

or

Bush + Jackson + Gross, circa 2005?

I think the Overbay package is stronger. Substituting Romero evens things out a bit, although Bush still had better numbers at the same point of his career than Romero does now. Farquhar is a nice prospect indeed, but there is probably not a huge demand for minor league relievers. Janssen has yet to re-establish himself after labrum surgery, he’ll be 28 next year with one good year of relief work to his credit and a recent history of serious arm trouble. What value does that have in a game where broken arms with good potential are a dime a dozen?

Fun speculation, but my main impression is that from now on you ought to be more generous with your callers outlandish trade proposals. ;)

MW: Never! And anyway, it’s been amended to Romero. The Overbay package, which isn’t necessarily better, was for three years of Overbay - that Janssen/Purcey package was for one year of Fielder.

MW: I try.

There is a good chance Halladay will be traded in the off-season.

Do you think the White Sox might have enough to deal for him after the Peavy deal?

I like Gordon Beckham, I know he can play SS and 3B and he reminds me of Aaron Hill. Nothin’ wrong with that.

MW: Nothin’ indeed. From what I have heard, the Sox lost most of their upper-echelon prospects in the Peavy deal, but they can always reload in the off-season to make a run at Doc.

MW: Sorry, it’s always been me.