It was easier some springs than others for Vernon Wells to convince himself his team had a chance to contend. By mid-May or early June, the mirage had vanished, leaving what looked like an endless waste of filler months on the schedule.
After a while, playing on a team that seemed etched into a third- or fourth-place finish every single season, you simply bowed to the inevitable.
"Playing in that division for so long, you just get used to it," Wells said.
There were times the Toronto Blue Jays put up a good fight, keeping the two biggest-payroll teams in baseball at bay, but they rarely lasted long. For years the Blue Jays knew they'd have a good chance every fifth day, but then Roy Halladay was on the move. Kelvim Escobar had already left. Lyle Overbay left; Kevin Gregg moved on.
Two years ago, the New York Yankees went on an unrivaled winter spending spree, doling out $423.5 million in long-term contracts. The Boston Red Sox and Yankees have to shadow each other's moves or risk letting down their sensitive fan bases. In Toronto, the Blue Jays were lucky if they could nip at those behemoths' heels.
"As a competitor, you go into it thinking you have as legitimate a chance as anybody," Wells said. "Obviously, there are teams in that division that are able to go out and make moves and improve as much as they want to, but as a player, you think, 'Yeah, if we play the game the right way, do the things we need to do, we've got a chance.'"
Wells was the guy Toronto hoped would anchor its chances amid all that madness. While other players moved on when they reached free agency, the Blue Jays chose to lock down Wells. General manager J.P. Ricciardi signed him to a seven-year, $126 million extension in December 2006.
That was good news for Wells and his family, of course. But it also practically guaranteed he would remain stuck in the also-ran column year after year. For the past few seasons, people have viewed Wells as among the most untradable players in baseball because of his salary.
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