Alex Anthopoulos: "I think that we

[Michael Bradley]

Over the last 20+ years, look at the teams that were consistent five to ten year playoff teams. The Braves had three Hall of Fame pitchers in the rotation at the same time (Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz), coupled with a Hall of Fame third baseman (Chipper) and more. The Yankees spent more than any team in baseball (and still do). The Red Sox were right behind the Yankees in spending. The Phillies are spending insane amounts of money to keep their core for as long as possible. Outside of being in an incredibly easy division (Twins), being that type of consistent winner is very, very difficult to do with internal development alone. The Rays have a chance to be that because they spent years upon years in the front end of the draft and did a great job picking in later rounds as well, but how long is that sustainable for them?

At some point, improvement has to come from outside the organization. I don't care who the GM is or how great he is, AA is not going draft elite talent at a rapid fire basis nor is Jose Bautista type talent going to develop out of thin air every year. Yes, signing one guy may not vault the team in the playoffs right away, but if that player is head and shoulders above anything the team could realistically get over the next few years (either internally or otherwise) then it is a fair investment. Again, assuming that talent is elite. I agree completely that spending money for the sake of spending it is the wrong philosophy, which is why I wasn't a fan of JP.

But anyone expecting AA's plan, even if executed to near perfection, to lead to a decade of dominance without some help from ownership, you are in for a disappointment. Unless Romero, Morrow, and Alvarez become this generation's Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz.

[Randle McMurphy]

One last thing, I can't stand this wasting JBau's prime argument. I hope AA is building a franchise that doesn't rely on one player and all of you should too. No one in BOS or NY talks about having to compete during Arod or Agone's windows.

Great post and while I agree with a lot of what you said, I would just quibble with this point -- I think the reason no one in Bos or NY talks about that is because they can go out and sign another franchise talent as soon as those windows close. We don't have that luxury, but we did fall ass-backwards into one elite power hitter and don't seem to have any more on the horizon.

So it would seem more critical for a team like the Jays to capitalize on this situation (not to mention Bautista's very reasonable contract number) than it would be for one of the free-spending teams.

Bingo. The Yankees and Red Sox can go out and buy elite players whenever they want to. The Jays don't have that luxury. They have to capitalize on the elite players they have while they're actually on the team and performing...they didn't do that with either Halladay or Delgado. They're on the verge of not doing it with Bautista too.

[BobbyBoy]

actually I think the jays do have that luxury. AA has said that if he wants a player(s) he could tell paul beeston and beeston could go to rogers and ask for that money, and I think Rogers, being as rich as they are would give the jays that money. The thing is, the jays don't feel like their close to competing for a world series, and AA has said that he wants to add guys like prince fielder when they think that they can win. So I wouldn't say the bluejays don't have that luxury.

[hyper316]

i don't think blue jays are close to winning yet, but it's hard to see a good opportunity go by (fielder). signing fielder doesn't mean they have to win this coming year, but for the next 4-5 years when he is under contract when jose bautista in his prime.

i just wish fielder or someone equivalent is FA next offseason. I'm just not sold on the Jays roster with guys that haven't played a full season for us:

Lawrie
Alvarez
Rasmus
Johnson
McGowan (post-comeback)
Santos
Thames/Snider

That's a big chunk of our team that has not establish themselves yet.

[Parataxis]

[quote="BobbyBoy" The thing is, the jays don't feel like their close to competing for a world series, and AA has said that he wants to add guys like prince fielder when they think that they can win. [/quote]

That's a ridiculous way of thinking. You add guys like Fielder when you can add guys like Fielder. That's the joy of longer contracts - they'll still be there when you're a piece away.

[Secueritae]

Bingo. The Yankees and Red Sox can go out and buy elite players whenever they want to. The Jays don't have that luxury. They have to capitalize on the elite players they have while they're actually on the team and performing...they didn't do that with either Halladay or Delgado. They're on the verge of not doing it with Bautista too.

If you can't spend why not trade prospects for elite players?

[bigdirty]

The Jays perpetually keep themselves in a state of not competing for the World Series by not spending.