Time for Rogers to open vault to get Jays to next level

[acemann]

if they do indeed spend i want pujols and ortiz... instead of darvish or anyone else

Escobar
Rasmus
Bautista
Pujols
Ortiz
Lawrie
Johnson
Arencibia
Snider


That's the best offense in the league bar none.

we can trade some prospects for a 1/2 pitcher if need be in the middle of the season. i have faith that 5 of the mannny potential starters we have can be carried by that offense to a championship

[acemann]

keep e5 for bench/dh/1st/3rd

you can try and make lind and thames apart of packages for pitchers

ie... deck, cecil, hech, thames, lind for felix hernandez

[Randle McMurphy]

I would still be surprised if we allowed a philosophical perspective prevent us from offering a contract to two of the best hitters in baseball, but that does leave Votto.

It also doesn't make any sense. We're willing to give a 5 year deal to Jose Bautista, a risk at the time, and potentially throw 100+M at a NPB pitcher, but we're not willing to give long-term deals to two of the best hitters in baseball?

I mean, if you're going to spend any money at all, you might as well spend it on a guarantee of elite production in Albert Pujols.

[Randle McMurphy]

keep e5 for bench/dh/1st/3rd

you can try and make lind and thames apart of packages for pitchers

ie... deck, cecil, hech, thames, lind for felix hernandez

The Mariners are not going to take mediocrity for Felix Hernandez.

[Wo1verine]

Beeston was on the McCown show ( i think) way back and has said flat out that we would NOT be signing free agent pitchers for more than 5 years. Hitters were a different issue I believe.

[SHollywoodN]

The Blue Jays imo have always been on the path with AA to the playoffs in 2013 but I think that could change with Dustin back. The other night the guys in the booth were talking about needing a veteran starter...this can be Dustin. I think if the Jays got Fielder to SH and ran with a 5 man bench we would have some great options
Escobar
Rasmus
Bautista
Fielder
Lind
Lawrie
Snider/Thames
JPA
Hill

Davis pr
Loewan 4th of
E5 ph
Johnny MAC utility
Molina c

That competes with anyone in the majors.

The pitching with Dustin Ricky brandon alverez and Cecil let's Carlos v Luis perez go back to strengthen the pen with janssen and co...

1 big name intimidation signing and we are ready to compete

[Yeezus_]

The Blue Jays imo have always been on the path with AA to the playoffs in 2013 but I think that could change with Dustin back. The other night the guys in the booth were talking about needing a veteran starter...this can be Dustin. I think if the Jays got Fielder to SH and ran with a 5 man bench we would have some great options
Escobar
Rasmus
Bautista
Fielder
Lind
Lawrie
Snider/Thames
JPA
Hill

Davis pr
Loewan 4th of
E5 ph
Johnny MAC utility
Molina c

That competes with anyone in the majors.

The pitching with Dustin Ricky brandon alverez and Cecil let's Carlos v Luis perez go back to strengthen the pen with janssen and co...

1 big name intimidation signing and we are ready to compete

The pitching staff has some questions though

[Rhettmatic]

I'm the virtual definition of a casual Jays fan, so I'll gladly cede to the collective's knowledge when it comes to most baseball-related matters.

But personally, I'll be pretty turned off if the Jays go through another off-season preaching patience. When was the last time one of the three major Toronto sports teams was on the cusp of potentially being a contender, with the only hurdle being ownership's willingness to spend? The Raptors have never been in that position, and you'd probably have to go back two or three decades to find the Leafs in a situation like that (I could be wrong on that note, I can't stand watching hockey).

If Rogers won't spend on the team this off-season, I'll find it really hard to believe they ever will. And then why should anyone invest -- financially or emotionally -- in the Jays?

[Avenger]

“The job’s great, the opportunity’s great, don’t get me wrong,” Anthopoulos said recently. “What I lose sleep over is going up against the GMs in this division. Everyone talks about the resources and the money, but we’ve seen a lot of teams with large payrolls and a lot of money that aren’t run very well. They don’t worry you as much as the teams that are run very well. Tampa’s a great example. They’re as tight on money as any team, but they’re run so well, with one of the best GMs in the game (in Andrew Friedman), you worry about it.
-----
“The trade route where we are right now is important for us,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing and it is. Free agency is the last route we want to go. At some point we’ll have to start delving into it a little more, but I still want to try to avoid it at all costs. If we try to do this through the draft, it’s going to be a while. And it’s not going to work and we’re not going to get it to time properly.”

http://bostonherald.com/sports/baseball ... articleFul

whether you like to hear it or not, atleast AA is being brutally honest. This should just about quell any hopes of signing a big name free agent.

[mini]

I also think that AA is downplaying the whole free-agent route in order to temper expectations a bit and also (possibly) still keep us looking like an 'underdog', a smokescreen of sorts (although that expression is used to death). What's the real point of letting your true intentions be known right now. Play it cool, let it be known you're looking to trade - which AA has been very good at - get discussions going on many fronts. While AA has come across as being 'honest' about the majority of things right now, we can't just take what he says as gospel all the time. I'm sure there's posturing going on.

I wouldn't get too worked-up as of yet, but that's just me. It's still so early. Are there any other GM's coming out right now saying that FAs are a huge priority and focus at this point in time (maybe there are, I don't know)?

[CapeCrusader]

I love AA, but at this moment I don't believe much of what he's saying (whether positive or negative). He'll have no plans of doing anything before deadline...then we get Rasmus and then he said that was it. Then we get KJ, just saying at this point in time with mini...he prob is just down playing the offseason. Let's not forget before we signed Vernon, we weren't suppose to come up with the money in that deal and we did.

[Shimso]

http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content ... 72910_5356

Interview with Beeston & McCown



Sounds a lot better than the article linked earlier.

Aside from saying that Lind seemed good at 1B, it was nice to hear that they say they'll go in guns blazing to get someone, that AA plays his cards close to his chest, and that 2013-2014 is too late.

[Randle McMurphy]

http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20110926_172910_5356

Interview with Beeston & McCown



Sounds a lot better than the article linked earlier.

Aside from saying that Lind seemed good at 1B, it was nice to hear that they say they'll go in guns blazing to get someone, that AA plays his cards close to his chest, and that 2013-2014 is too late.

Beeston's said stuff like this before. It doesn't mean anything until they actually do it.

[Randle McMurphy]

McCown talking about Rasmus being some kind of a bust after 33 games cracks me up. Did he miss his 2+ seasons with the Cardinals?

I also don't know why people have this idea the bullpen is terrible. We have a lot of pitchers down there right now having good seasons (Janssen, Francisco, Litsch, Carreno, Perez, Villanueva). The fact that Jon Rauch sucks doesn't mean everyone else does.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

I get the feeling that AA is basically saying that attracting free agents is more difficult then by way of going after a player via trade, having them settle here for a bit and hopefully signing them long term.

[Michael Bradley]

Trading is desirable because it brings some level of cost certainty with it. For example, if the Jays traded for Hanley Ramirez, they would know they have Ramirez signed for three more years at $46 million. That figure isn't going to change. They wouldn't have to deal with his agent or bidding or working out a complicated contract. All they lose is prospects and they gain a good player with cost certainty. Compare that situation to if they wanted to sign a similar player (say Jose Reyes) this off-season. All that costs is money, but the dollars would be much higher, the years much longer, and the competition much fiercer. Whereas if they find out Ramirez is available, AA would just have to present a package of prospects that the Marlins would find desirable. Or if AA wanted to acquire a player who is about to head to arbitration (like Escobar, Morrow, Rasmus, etc), then the chances of working out a long-term deal with that player prior to free agency (at a discounted rate) increases greatly. I can see why AA would prefer the trade route.

But in this case, AA probably doesn't have a choice. I don't think Rogers will even allow going after a big free agent, unless it is a unique situation (i.e. Darvish).

[Rhettmatic]

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
hearing whispers #bluejays may be big spenders this winter. already have great farm system, scouts, gm. primed to be player?

[Schad]

Yeah, I'm still not ready to say that we won't be players in free agency. AA said that it's the least desirable means to acquire talent, but he certainly didn't rule it out. What that suggests to me is that we'll go hard after trade options prior to the start of free agency, and if those don't show promise, only then will we consider throwing big money at unattached guys.

[Raps in 4]

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
hearing whispers #bluejays may be big spenders this winter. already have great farm system, scouts, gm. primed to be player?

None of that matters when you have stingy ownership. Just look at the Rays and Marlins.