6:56 PM Eastern
As the denizens of Blue Jays Nation lay snug in our beds following the Brandon Morrow news conference – or at least snug in our lunches or some such – Alex Anthopoulos had one more trick up his sleeve.
Late Tuesday afternoon, word leaked that the Blue Jays had indeed added to their bullpen, making up for the near-miss of Koji Uehara by signing former Reds closer Francisco Cordero to a one-year deal worth approximately $4.5 million. The Jays will announce the signing after Cordero passes his physical.
Cordero, who turns 37 in June, is coming off his best year in a decade. He had 37 saves in 43 opportunities, posting a 2.45 ERA. He had a sparkling WHIP of 1.019, holding opponents to a .198/.271/.320 mark, though lefties (.736 OPS) handled him a lot better than righties (.465 OPS).
Cordero’s year finished in dubious fashion, as he picked up that 37th save in a 5-4 Reds win over the Mets by pitching a scoreless bottom of the 13th in which he walked four and committed a balk. He didn’t actually earn a single one of the three outs recorded in the inning, with a runner being caught stealing and the game ending on a line-drive double play.
Can we expect a lot of that sort of bullet-dodging from Cordero in 2012? The answer is a definite maybe. While he did have great results in 2011, he had the worst strikeout rate of his career, just 5.4 per nine innings. He hadn’t been below 7.3 since his rookie season. However, only twice in his career had he posted a walk rate better than last season’s 2.8 per nine innings, and he posted the second-best groundball to flyball ratio of his career in ’11.
Chances are he’s got one more good year in him, and the Blue Jays are banking on that.
Cordero will work the 8th inning, setting things up for Sergio Santos, and while they’re no Duane Ward and Tom Henke, they’re certainly the best late-inning twosome the Jays have had since then. And if Cordero doesn’t have anything left, then they’re out the cash, but they still have Darren Oliver, Jason Frasor and Casey Janssen, any of whom I would have been fine with working the 8th anyway.
What this translates to is that, most nights, a team is only going to have six innings to beat the Blue Jays. This appears to be the best bullpen this team has ever assembled, and a great bullpen has the ability to mask shortcomings in the starting rotation.
It’s also economical – Santos, Cordero, Oliver, Frasor and Janssen will combine to make just under $16 million this season, or an average of just over $3 million each. That kind of money buys you about a Hiroki Kuroda and a half, and while the Jays’ fearsome fivesome won’t likely combine to throw 300 innings, they’ll pitch more high-leverage frames than 1 1/2 starters will.
Just as importantly – and maybe moreso – this seems to be Alex Anthopoulos’ way to try to take advantage of the new CBA. You can no longer load up on Type B free agents in order to try to secure extra high draft picks, so what he’s doing now is hoarding late-inning relievers, which is something everyone needs. Last year, the San Diego Padres got two up-and-coming pitching prospects at the deadline for Mike Adams, and the Orioles picked up Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis, two intriguing, but flawed, players with big-league experience for Uehara.
This year, if the Blue Jays are in the race late, they have a shutdown bullpen which is extraordinarily helpful in the playoffs. If they’re not in the race late, they have cards to play in Oliver and Cordero, at least, two guys who would likely be very marketable in a trade deadline scenario, along with Frasor and Janssen. And don’t forget that the Jays used three relievers last July to secure Colby Rasmus in trade – you never know if that kind of opportunity might present itself again.
There will be two spots left in the bullpen, and there are five candidates to fill them: Joel Carreno, Aaron Laffey, Jesse Litsch, Luis Perez and Carlos Villanueva. The likeliest candidates to win those spots, assuming everyone stays healthy (which is rather a massive assumption) are Perez and Villanueva.
Perez has two points in his favour: He’s left-handed, and he’s out of options. Without him, Oliver is the only lefty in the bullpen, which probably wouldn’t thrill John Farrell, and it’s been well-documented that Alex Anthopoulos doesn’t like to let assets go for nothing, which is what would happen if he was forced to put Perez through waivers at the end of Spring Training. Laffey is on a minor-league deal, and Carreno and Litsch have options remaining, which means they’re probably out of luck. Villanueva showed he could do a fine job as a long-ish man out of the bullpen last season and is out of options, so he’s likely safe. But he’s also on a non-guaranteed contract, which means the Blue Jays could release him in the spring and pay just 1/6 of his contract. I’d be surprised if they did, though, given how well he pitched last year. I don’t think after a year like that you can pitch your way into being released with seven crappy spring innings.
So – given that this is probably it as far as off-season moves go – assuming good health, we now know who 24 of the final 25 players the Blue Jays take north from Spring Training will be:
Pitchers (12) – Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, Brett Cecil, Henderson Alvarez, Dustin McGowan, Sergio Santos, Francisco Cordero, Darren Oliver, Jason Frasor, Casey Janssen, Carlos Villanueva, Luis Perez
Catchers (2) – J.P. Arencibia, Jeff Mathis
Infielders (6) – Adam Lind, Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, Brett Lawrie, Omar Vizquel, Edwin Encarnacion
Outfielders (5) – Colby Rasmus, Jose Bautista, Rajai Davis, Ben Francisco and either Travis Snider or Eric Thames.
But don’t put it past Alex Anthopoulos to swing a huge deal out of nowhere between now and Opening Day.
Before I go, a brief comment on the signing of Prince Fielder by the Detroit Tigers. Good for them, as they now have the best 1-2 punch in baseball in Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, though they’re going to have to find a place for Cabrera to play. The Tigers were never mentioned in the Fielder sweepstakes, but they swooped in and gave him nine years and $214 million – he’ll earn a hair less per year than Albert Pujols will with the Angels.
As I said when discussing the Blue Jays’ potential for signing him, I believe this is a contract that will ultimately wind up being regrettable. I certainly don’t want to pay Fielder $100 million over the last four years of that deal to be an injury-prone DH. The odds that he’s worth it over the nine years are far, far slimmer than the man himself. But then, the Tigers could win a World Series or two with him in the line-up, which would certainly make those last painful years well worth it.
There really does seem to be a wide chasm between good teams and bad in the American League right now, with the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers, Rangers and Angels on one side and the Orioles, Indians, Royals, White Sox, Mariners and A’s on the other. Only the Blue Jays and Twins seem to be in position to take a shot at the big boys, and only if plenty of things go right for them. There may be six teams in the A.L. that win 90 games this season and six that lose 90. It’s going to be fun.
Please follow me on The Twitter, you can find me @wilnerness590.
Comments are always welcome – there are a bunch in the hopper right now because I have been blogging so much the last couple of days. I’ll get to them and post them tomorrow.
Click here to subscribe to Wilner's blog
Do u think the blue jays will contend this year ?
MW: If plenty of things go right, they can.
- heather frederick” I certainly don’t want to pay Fielder $100 million over the last four years of that deal to be an injury-prone DH”
Your assertion that he is injury prone is crap. He’s played a minimum of 157 games since 2006.
He fully well has the ability to work on his body composition in the future IF it becomes an issue.
MW: Yes, because it’s much easier to get into shape when you’re a 300-pound 30 year-old than it is when you’re a 260-pound 25 year-old. I didn’t say he IS injury-prone, I said he will be in four years.
- JarAren’t you going JUST a bit overboard with the hype here? Best ever? On paper how is that group any better than Francisco, Frasor, Dotel, Rzep, Rauch, Janssen and Villaneuva were entering last year?
MW: You’re kidding, right? Francisco, Frasor, Dotel and Rauch were all very flawed guys – pitchers who had started the season as their team’s closers, but ALL lost their jobs, two of them in the season’s first week. Janssen was coming off a poor year, Rzepczynski was a mediocre-to-poor starter transitioning to relief and Villanueva was a solid-ish long man. Now Janssen and Villanueva are coming off great years, Santos is an emerging star, Cordero has more closer pedigree than all the other guys put together and Oliver has had five great years in a row.
- JoshWhy do you say out of cash? Was this mentioned by AA at the presser?
MW: I said “out THE cash”. If Cordero falls flat, all the Jays lose is the money they’re paying him, because they have a few other guys who can easily step into his role.
- DOAlso, great use of ‘Denizens’
MW: Much obliged
- DOI’m very pleased with the Cordero signing. At the very least, it signals that the Jays aren’t content to finish 3rd next year. They want to compete – and even though they haven’t made a big splash yet this off-season, they’ve quietly assembled some veteran pieces that should help them in the short-term. Everybody seems to underestimate how good they are right now.
Here’s a general question I have for you, Mike. Two of the best hitters in the National League (Pujols + Fielder) have moved to the American League this off-season. The trend seems to be that AL teams are spending more than their NL counterparts. In my opinion, while the superiority of the AL East to the NL East is nothing new, the AL Central and West have now surpassed the NL Central and NL West in quality.
If so, how much will the Houston Astros’ move to the AL balance the two leagues in the near future?
MW: Not that much, it’s only one team and the Astros aren’t going to be crappy forever.
- NickThe only thing that I’d like to see them get which is easily attainable is a bat on the bench that can hit well against lefties (better than Francisco). That way against LHP you can put EE at first, Davis in left for Thames and that hitter at DH.
- TheoMike,
Like you say the ‘pen does look great. The only concern I have is the ratio of left to right handed relievers. At present there’s only two (if Perez makes the team). Is this a problem?
Also if Litsch doesn’t make the team I assume he goes to AAA and becomes an option for a spot start or injury to either the rotation or the ‘pen?
MW: I don’t think it’s a problem. Janssen was very good at getting lefties out last year, for one thing, and the quality of the relievers overall is very strong. I think you’re right on Litsch, though they did really like him as a reliever.
- Alex in WaterlooI’m very happy you mentioned Luis Perez. I really thought he was a solid left-handed reliever for Toronto in 2011 and look forward to seeing him in the bullpen in 2012.
Hypothetical: If aliens threaten Toronto and you have to defend the city with one of the following 5-man bullpens in a 1-game Battle Royal, which do you choose?
2012 – Santos, Cordero, Oliver, Frasor, Janssen.
1993 – Ward, Cox, Eichhorn, Timlin, Tony Castillo.
MW: I’ll tell you after the season.
- Adrian, co-alumnusCongratulations to the management for the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Joseph P.I would love to give all the credit to one man but you know there were multiple people working hard behind the scenes from accounting to scouting.
Thank you Rogers. We have not seen this kind of commitment to excellence in a long, long time.
All the best this season. With these acquisitions and contract extensions (there is that word “commitment” again) maybe, just maybe, we have just moved up the Toronto Blue Jays’ competitive timeline from 2013 to 2012.
Looking forward to seeing some great games!
Save me a seat.
What if Drabek and McGowan both perform well? Any room on the team?
MW: For both at the same time? Doubtful if everyone is healthy, but Cecil and Alvarez are hardly sure things.
- AnonymousAnother savvy move by AA. Potential all-stars at 7 of 8 positions, a young but hugely promising starting rotation and a lights out bull pen. PLAY BALL, let’s fire this baby up!!
MW: Which position doesn’t have a potential all-star?
- SlingshotHi Mike, I really can hardly believe people think that the Fielder signing was remotely close to a good idea. It looks like Mike Ilitch is in his 80s and wants to win now. He appears to not care what the franchise is saddled with in the future. To hear all these fans calling in about how upset they are with the AA for not bettering this deal is unbelievable.
- douglas mccallumFun question: Hindsight being 20/20 what would have been the Jays record last year with this year’s current line-up?
MW: Fun question, but impossible to answer.
- ScoobyBPMike it must be hard for you to be in the media and hear other media members feeding this stuff( all the sign Fielder at any cost ).
MW: It doesn’t bother me, I just don’t agree.
- douglas mccallum“… the best bullpen this team has ever assembled …”
Wowsers. That’s pretty high praise, and not a bad outcome for an off-season where Toronto didn’t make any ‘big’ moves and most fans are hugely disappointed (although goodness knows why when it was pretty clear what was likely to happen from the start).
MW: Indeed
- BenMike…a comment on your 24/25 players who start the season. I’m sure there are a lot of problems with this idea…but I keep thinking of the possibility of Snider, Thames, and Encarnacion each playing about 108 games, and being able to carry both Snider and Thames.
I’m sure you can analyse the plusses and minuses better than I can. I just see the chance down the road that Thames and Snider could share LF and DH, and keeping both this year would help show if that might work.
I know Edwin had a great last part of his season, and I hope he has another. But great years from three players for 108 or so games each might be better than not having either Snider or Thames.
This is going to be a fun year!!
MW: I’d rather have all of them playing 150 games, even if one of them is in the minors.
- Steve in HHI see another exciting year with the potential to see some young and exciting players do some big things!
- Mike Mmichael,
- darrell bishopi’m with you on this one. when i heard yesterday you mention it on the radio and then reading it later in the day that the blue jays were one of a few teams in on cordero i was going to post it here but didn’t have the chance.
if they could scoop him, would absolutely solidify an already deep bullpen and maybe have one of the best from top to bottom in mlb. for sure.
and really don’t think i’m “homering it up at all” in saying that michael.
certainly the best and deepest pen this team has had in yrs. true that.
hey, the way i look at it… just might have at least 1 component that is the best in all of mlb…
and a very important component at that.
can’t sluff this off too easily my friend.
pitching can get you in the playoffs and some say pitching wins you championships.
so if the other side of the pitching equation lives up to expectations, could be a fun yr. perhaps.
love the notion of having things more or less in hand after 6-7 innings every night.
nice feeling to have i think…
we’ll see…
Mike,
Why did the Jays let Molina walk for basically the same money they gave Mathis? This makes no sense to me. J.P. seems decent enough a defender and Molina’s bat is worth more, in my opinion, than Mathis’ defensive prowess.
Very happy that we looked up Morrow – I attended that 1-hitter game and am still talking about to this day. Just wished Hill would have had a better jump on that big, bouncing chopper off of Longoria’s bat.
MW: Molina’s bat has only been good for a couple of years, in limited action. The Jays let him walk because they got a draft pick back for him. The hit Longoria got was a slow roller, not a high chopper. Equally sad, though.
- ToddHow come your are not critical of the Jays? They release their schedule saying this is the jays 2012 “championship season” schedule. They change the uniforms. They leak a story that they are in the Feilder sweepstakes. They leak a story that they are in the Darvish sweepstakes. And they sign a 44 year old shortstop! Oh wait, I forgot, they are still playing the “if-all-our-average-players-suddenly-have-career-years-at-the-same-time card LOL. AA (and Beaston) both love the sound of their own voice and I for one am tired of hearing it
MW: I’m surprised that you’re tired of hearing it, since it doesn’t appear you’ve heard anything they’ve said all winter. No one from the Blue Jays ever leaked anything about Fielder or Darvish, and in fact, both Anthopoulos and Beeston have said countless times all off-season that they won’t be going after any big-money free agents. And don’t forget that all their “average” players are on the good side of 30, and most are under 26. And the 162-game regular season is referred to by Major League Baseball as the “Championship Season”. For every team. Though the Jays probably should have told people that. But hey, don’t let the facts get in the way of your anger!
- WayneMike,
I think you should temper your expectations on this bullpen just a little bit. There are A LOT of question marks for me. I love what I saw out of Santos last year, and think he can be great. But he doesn’t have much pitching experience, is there a step backwards at all coming if the league starts to figure him out? Cordero is getting older, how much longer will his health/abilities last? Same with Oliver. Frasor has never been an elite guy, but yes he can be useful if used properly. Janssen has had some solid years when healthy, but will his shoulder hold up? I think we need to see their preformance on the field before we start touting this is the best Blue Jays bullpen ever assembled. I’m not sold yet. It has the potential to be great, but will likely fall somewhere between average and good. If this group can be as good as the group in 2007 I think everyone should be pretty pleased. That group contained some guys who never had sustained success but for that year were really good. Lets just wait and see..
- Dennymichael,
- darrell bishopand in regards to the whopping prince fielder mega contract…
i got the team wrong. that one certainly came out of left field but got the other part right… the contract being outrageously enormous based on term and total $ value and would remind us all in the end why we here in t.o. didn’t really have a true shot at this top fa prize unfortunately.
and btw michael… the superstar mvp yr. in and yr. out in all of mlb… scott boras.
man, this guy gets the job done for his people doesn’t he?
amazing….
Hey Mike…cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season. At the very least it’s going to be fun baseball, even if the playoffs aren’t in the offing. A lot rides on the seasons Lind and Lawrie have. I know guys like Jackson, Harden and Garland are hardly ideal, but if they could be had for 1-2 year deals would you pick them up as a potential #3 while the young arms get ready on the farm?
MW: Harden, maybe, because his ceiling is as high as guys like McGowan and Drabek. Not the other guys, though.
- AndrewOur bullpen looks real good now and if 4 of 5 of the starters can pitch to thier potential we will be just fine. The offence is improved just with another year under the belt of the young guys. Going back over the last 3 years 1 year pitchers were great batting sub par the next year was the opposite. Here’s hoping everything marches in step this year, and if this happens AA has more assets then maybe any other team to help aquire help down the stretch if need be! In AA I trust.
- WojoWith EE likely starting DH, what are Jays options if they need to replace Lind at 1B mid-game? Any of their 25-man OF’ers play 1B? Will they be forced to lose DH mid-game?
MW: Vizquel has played first base, once. Bautista could move to first, or Arencibia. They’d probably exhaust those options before losing the DH.
- _wdelInteresting signing but I’ve got questions. By all accounts, the diminishing K rates is as a result of a diminishing fastball, one that was once in the mid 90s is now in the low 90s while also occasionally dipping into the high 80s.
I’m quite surprised the Jays are not giving their younger pitchers a chance. Carreno and Litsch showed, in limited action, that they could do more than an adequate job. Elsewhere, the Jays also have 3-4 relievers in AA/AAA who may deserve a shot (Beck, Farquar, Magnusson, and Farina). Because relievers are fickle, I would have loved to see what those young guys could do. Most teams tend to carry 1-2 young (inexperienced) RP into a season to find out what they got but the Jays seem to be the exception.
MW: This year, but not in the recent past, though they’ll likely be carrying Luis Perez. And guys get hurt, so we’ll likely see a lot of those kids at some point in time. I believe Cordero’s average fastball was 93.1 in 2011, by the way.
- JTmichael,
hey… noticed this morning that cdn. sp jeff francis signed on with the reds to a minor league contract.
that’s kind of interesting. thought that could have possibly been a guy aa might do the same with.
183 ip last season out in the mountains there in colarado. that’s workmanlike no doubt. not good stats though. but not many pitchers customarily do out there do they?
and a lefty as well. i suppose that didn’t help matters. as the blue jays already got a few of thema at their disposal…
anyway… coulda been somewhat interesting. being a cdn. guy, b.c. boy and all.
same as lawrie… who knows probably good buddies. coulda hung out together…
MW: Francis pitched in Kansas City last year. And Canadian or otherwise, he’s not as good as what the Jays have.
- darrell bishophey mike;
Moot point on the jays ever getting fielder, not the type of player double a will attach a bus load of cash behind, and stating this, there may be a possibility of the jays chasing votto if he hits the free agent market. sad to see shaun camp go-don’t know if he signed, but he was a good reliever. not happy with the francisco signing, would rather have snider stay up with the big club. he will eventually hit, but the jays have to show patience as they did with adam lind. nice to have so many new relievers, but would rather have litsch, carreno and scott richmond up on the roster. If the jays don’t hit this year as last year, anthopolous will garner criticism as he could have signed a bat without breaking the bank-carlos pena, or matsui come to mind who whould protect bautista somewhat in the order and placate the fans, but let’s see what the team can do with the current incantation of the roster. great job as always mike.
MW: Thanks, and congrats on being the first to call for Scott Richmond!
- robert.smichael,
- darrell bishopnote to skipper farrell next time you talk to him…
team strategy when playing the tigers this yr.
hit the ball at miguel cabrera over at 3rd every chance you get.
this guy is gonna make ee look like the 2nd coming of brooks robinson over there.
a real good chance anyway….
Hey Mike
If Bonds was signed as the DH (yeah, I know, won’t happen), what kind of numbers do you think he would produce? 30+ bombs and a +400 obp?
MW: I doubt it. He’s deflated quite a bit, last I looked, and he hasn’t played in five years.
- RickIf the bull pen does succeed this year, it will be in spite of Cordero, not because of him. He’s an older pitcher with a strikeout rate in steady decline. Had xFIP of 4.37 and 4.10 in the last two seasons. Read the Jan 12th article on Fangraphs. Only 3 pitchers in this pen stand out to me: Santos, Oliver, Janssen. The rest are not special.
MW: Can I borrow your crystal ball when you’re done with it? Seems Cordero succeeded quite well in 2011 despite the declining K rate and the poor xFIP.
- Doug Dmichael,
- darrell bishopi was testing you there with jeff francis still being colorado.
good job on the correction…
i’m completely thru trying to sneak anything by you anymore. hands up here. you win…
now, what i’m really hoping for is aa to get on his horse and go out and get his paws on just 1 more starter that is clear and away above any of our projected 3-4-5 rotation guys. take your pick…
cause’ if the guy’s legit… this blue jays team this yr. ain’t gonna quit my friend.
hey, maybe that can be their mantra for this upcoming season… “we’re legit and we ain’t gonna quit.” i like it. let them know they can use that one.
cause’ i think that’s all this team really needs to be a serious playoff contender for 2012.
there i said it…
mind you, i’m a total homer and i seem to say stuff like this all the time…
but this time i might just be right…
Mike,
One thing no one is talking about is a potential drop off from Jose Bautista with no one protecting him in the line up.
It appears in everyones projections for the season that they expect another 40homer/100rbi year from him.
I on the other hand based on his only slightly above average second half, where the pitchers fed him a steady diet of pitches down and away, feel that with no protection he is going to see absolutely nothing to hit this year. Sure, he will take a ton of walks, but hitting the ball the other way certainly isn’t his strong suit. If Lind or possibly even Lawrie don’t emerge as formidable protection for Bautista, I truly believe we are looking at a .250 BA 20hr 75rbi with a great OBP, amazing defense and tremendous leadership. Still not a bad year by any means but nothing near what he is capable of if he had a big bat behind him.
MW: It’s interesting that you would think it took the rest of the league a year and a half to catch up to Bautista and his lack of protection, because he has never really had any over the last two years, in which he’s been by far the best hitter in the game. Also, after the all-star break in 2011, Bautista posted an .896 OPS, which was ninth in the league. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot better than “slightly above average” to me. Sure he could drop off in ’12, but it’s not going to be because of who is hitting behind him.
- ScottIf you knew with certainty the Jays would not compete for the next two years, would you wish you had traded Bautista while he was in his prime?
MW: It depends on the return, and it depends on when we think Jose Bautista’s “prime” is. He certainly doesn’t have nearly as much mileage on him as most 30 year-olds, given the fact that he didn’t become a full-time player until he was 28. But of course, you can’t know anything about the future with certainty, beyond the whole “everybody dies eventually” thing.
- Anonymousmichael,
- darrell bishopactually… truth be known, you can pass this one along to skipper farrell when it comes to team strategy playing the tigers this yr.
hit it to pretty much anyone in their infield really.
that should work…
MW: Which position doesn’t have a potential all-star?
I suppose all have potential Mike, but it’ll be tough to get the question marks in left field on the fan ballot. This team is going to give us one exciting summer. I can’t wait to sit by the campfire and listen to Jerry, Allan and yourself call a run to the playoffs. If the planets align, this will be a tough team to beat and tons of fun to listen to. We’ve even got all stars in the broadcast booth. Too bad none of you guys can play left field.
MW: Don’t worry, both Travis Snider and Eric Thames can. I didn’t know you meant potential all-star in 2012.
- SlingshotIm really looking forward to seeing what this cast of characters can do. Especially the starting rotation. I was wondering how you see kyle drabek fitting in. how do you feel about the way he finished last season.
MW: I didn’t think he showed much in September that he didn’t show in the first half. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes brutal. I’m certainly not willing to write him off, though, not even close, though the way the team is currently constructed I don’t see a place for him to start the season if everyone stays healthy.
- GabeHi Mike
Looks like Morrow is maturing as he is entering the 3rd full year as a starter. He knows he needs to bear down and pitch with a bit of nastiness.
With all the big free agent signed, what do you think about signing Johnny Damon as a DH? He still shows that he is still dangerous and very productive, can play centre and right field. I think he would be a good fit for the jays.
MW: Johnny Damon can only play right field if you want every baserunner going first to third and scoring from second on a single, and stretching singles into doubles and doubles into triples routinely. Damon can still hit a but, but he’s 10 years older than Edwin Encarnacion, who is slated to be the Jays’ DH, and Edwin was a better hitter than Damon last year.
- francisThere is no way the blue jays even win the same amount of games they won last year. They require a 2b, lf, cf, 1b and 2 starting pitchers. Other then that there perfect?
MW: You really haven’t been paying attention, have you?
- rdmichael,
- darrell bishopgabe above here mentions the possibility of young drabek getting himself into the mix of the starting rotation for this upcoming season. and others have suggested hutchison, mcguire, jenkins perhaps doing the same at some point in 2012. (probably a smidge too early for that) but if not… man, we’re onto something really good indeed.
especially if drabek “gives them the heat and announces his presence with authority…”
just like nuke laloosh did.
show em’ some real “fear and ignorance..”
that would be good i tell you…
michael,
- darrell bishopactually there’s a question for you.
maybe tough to answer but best guess my friend…
how do you think “meat” ended up doing in the majors anyway?
i won’t lie to you, i’ve always pondered that question…
Off topic question Mike. Under the new wild card format rules, would a team that finishes 3rd in their division be eligible for the final wild card spot if they had the best record?
MW: Absolutely.
- MoogieHello mike
As much as I am a little frustrated with the lack of splash AA is not willing to make in the off season, I would rather bite my tongue and see what is unfolding this year. Looking at the current jays roster, the need for a solid starter by far outweigh the need for a big bat.
What teams payed for Latos & Gonzalez was just crazy, definitely a sellers market. What Texas payed for Darvish was ridiculous, especially after hearing what Jesse Barfield said about Darvish in an interview. Jesse thinks Darvish misses a lot with his pitches, that he was able to get away with it in Japan, but certainly not here.
If you were beeston, would you have signed Darvish for that money?
MW: I would have to know what the baseball people’s evaluations were. I have never seen Darvish pitch, but for a couple of innings at the WBC. If Alex and his crew thought Darvish was worth almost $20 million per season, as the Rangers did, then I would have given the go-ahead.
- FrancisI’m very curious to see what AA can do come the trade deadline. Teams like the Mariners, and the Reds could be serious sellers if they are not in the playoff hunt. (dreaming) If King Felix or Votto where to ever end up in a Jays uniform, mid-season is when it could happen. Gives the Jays farm system another half season to further develop in the AA and AAA levels, and raise their value.
On another note, I like the idea of a real grass on the field. If only they could offer a good beer… not in a plastic cup form…
- SSi don’t understand the optimism for this team, beeston wants 2-3 playoff appearances, the jays will be lucky to not end up in the basement of the east if baltimore ever pulls it together.
they have a second basemen who does not field well, a centre fielder and a first basemen coming off there worst years and they still need a couple of starting pitchers. They might be able to qualify for the wild card when some of the youth comes through in about 5 to 6 years.
MW: It’s fun to think about worst-case scenarios, isn’t it?
- mdRogers communication are pretty much the richest owners in all of baseball so why is anyone buying this stuff about guys like fielder being to much money. It’s only money from a company that makes billions in profits and uses the blue jays as content for there televison and radio. People seem to forget that the last time we won the world series we were the highest paying team in baseball! stop talking about trades, why deplete your own farm system when you can get a position player for nothing more then money.
MW: You do realize that when the Jays were the highest-payroll team in baseball there wasn’t nearly the payroll discrepancy that there is now, right? And that even then, they never signed a free agent to a contract longer than three years. Also, the fact that you have money doesn’t mean you’d be well-advised to set it on fire.
- yrMike, Jonah Keri’s book the extra 2% is an insightful read on the Rays and their Wall St mgt team. The book points out the payroll differences between 1993 to today are a) stadiums b) regional sports networks. YES/ NESN have brought the Yanks/ BoSox into a different rev league. The Angels/ Dodgers/ Rangers regional deals are massive as well. Point is Rogers is under allotting broadcast fees (and thus Jays revenue) to the Jays, which short changes the fans. If Texas can generate $80M yr from the broadcast rights, the Jays should be allotted that as well. Then we would have a shot at Joe Nathan, Darvish and keeping Napoli. The Rays owner says without a new stadium he will sell. Rogers owns the stadium and the Jays are cheap content. They need to be fair to the fans as Toronto is a big enough market where we need not spend like a middle market team.
MW: How do you know how much Rogers is allotting to broadcast fees?
- CMI don’t. but jays payroll is not significantly north of the $80M the Rangers’ receive for local broadcast rights. Given the other rev streams: ticket revs, concession, parking, rev equalization are not factored in, its fair to say Rogers allots far less than the Rangers’ broadcast # to the team for broadcast revs.
MW: I’m not comfortable speculating on stuff like that.
- CM