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jays1977: Hi Mr. Beeston, thanks for chatting with us. Tom Verducci recently wrote an article where he detailed an MLB plan for realignment. What are your thoughts on this? Any truth? Could the Blue Jays ever be moved to a different division with Cleveland and Detroit?

Paul Beeston: It's a very good question and the Commissioner of Baseball has set up a Committee to look at and address this. It is not something that has had any great discussion other than the fact that it is an issue to be discussed at future meetings. Whether the Blue Jays are moved to another division, we will be happy if we are still aligned in a division with New York and Boston.

bitterbob: What ever happened to Adeinis Hechavarria? We heard a lot about him two weeks ago, but it seems like it's dead? Did he not clear customs?

Paul Beeston: We had a lot of interest in the Cuban shortstop. We still have interest in the Cuban shortstop. We do not have anything finalized and as of right now and he is still in Mexico. When there is something to announce and it is finalized it will result in a press release.

fun34690: Paul, its great to have you back! The Vernon Wells deal really frustrates me. Will the Blue Jays go back to the policy of only doing four years ... max?

Paul Beeston: Personally, I've always believed in short-term contracts. Four-year contracts are the extent of what we will do. That is always subject to change. Short-term contracts always allow for flexibility. On the other hand, should you be able to obtain options on the players service past those four years, that is something that you would look at.

due2illnes: Hi, Paul. Do you think that Toronto will ever build a baseball-only, open-air stadium for the Blue Jays?

Paul Beeston: I do not believe that a baseball-only, open-air stadium will be built in the foreseeable future. We are fortunate that Rogers Centre is downtown and that is has a retractable roof. When it is open it is an open-air stadium unlike others that just seem to have a hole in the roof. Perhaps sometime 25-30 years from now and the stadium there may be considerations for a new stadium. Whether that stadium is multi-purpose, baseball-only, it is not likely to change the climate in Toronto and a retractable roof gives us the advantage of having the best of both worlds.

Randle McMurphy wrote:Most teams would kill for 9 home games each against NYY and BOS. But we really already knew Beeston's feeling on this...I believe the Jays requested to stay in the AL East when the Central formed. Unfortunately that leaves us stuck out of the playoffs until we can become one of the top 2 teams in baseball.

Interesting about the lack of a plan for a new stadium any time soon.

Hoopstarr wrote:Haha, that would be Aziz Ansari. I could never pull off such an effortlessly goofy look.

We had a lot of interest in the Cuban shortstop. We still have interest in the Cuban shortstop.

SharoneWright wrote:What I gathered is that Hech is a pipe dream.

We had a lot of interest in the Cuban shortstop. We still have interest in the Cuban shortstop.

Schadenfreude wrote:

SharoneWright wrote:What I gathered is that Hech is a pipe dream.

We had a lot of interest in the Cuban shortstop. We still have interest in the Cuban shortstop.

Not a pipe dream...it seems as if he's expected to sign with the Jays and thus isn't negotiating with other teams, but hasn't inked as of yet.

chocolateSensi wrote:Hands down my favourite Aziz Ansari skit.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9q30Ce2vwE[/youtube]

-MetA4- wrote:The Hechevarria wait appears to be just Visa issues.