Is the anger and cynicism about ownership diminishing or is the media taking a harder line? Is AA's honeymoon over? Where is Beeston in all of this, why is he hanging AA out to dry? Money issues should be his topic.
Also, in Buster's ESPN blog, he says Carlos Beltran will make up his mind on a team in the next 72 hours. Heyman has an update on Prince Fielder that sheds little new light on his situation. (See below)
National Post
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/12/ ... ill-spend/
But National Post sources familiar with knowledge of the Blue Jays’ thinking strongly contradicted that the Jays were willing or able to spend the required money on Darvish. And in Tuesday’s conference call, Anthopoulos was careful to note the payroll parameters he has been given — which resulted in a US$70-million payroll on Opening Day last season — remain in place.
Baseball is a game swimming with sharks, and those in the American League East have more teeth than anywhere else. But now the AL West has loaded up, with two teams fuelled by lucrative local broadcasting deals — the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, flush with a US$150-million per year TV contract, added Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson for a combined price of US$331.5-million, while Texas, whose US$80-million-per-year deal starts in 2014, is bent on something more than losing Game 7 of the World Series. The arms race has spread, and while money never guarantees success, in the hands of capable organizations it is a formidable weapon.
Rogers certainly has the right to treat the Jays like a small part of their vast enterprise, which is the case. But nobody who says Rogers should allocate more money to the Blue Jays is suggesting they simply spend the money like drunks — bartender, a Mo Vaughn for all my friends! — but instead are saying that given the resourcefulness and creativity Anthopoulos has already displayed, perhaps he should be given a little more ammunition. Not only would it probably help, it would be a concrete signal to the reticent Toronto fan base that Rogers is serious about winning. Waiting for the fans to commit first has certainly been an interesting strategy, though.
Toronto Star
http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/
2. To be transparent or not to be transparent? Let's say the Jays bid $51.6 million and were outbid by Texas by a relatively measly $100,000. They may want their fans to know that, to understand just how aggressive they were in the effort to land this player at a time when some (many?) wonder whether Rogers will pay for top-flight talent.
But let's say the Toronto bid was $20 million. Or even $30 million. Let's say the Jays were badly outbid and didn't really understand the market they were in. How to explain that to their fans if they choose to make their bid public?
Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/b ... le2279026/
The Jays themselves don't help the situation. Fans wanted to know how close the team came in the Darvish sweepstakes. Unfortunately they got the mushroom treatment from general manager Alex Anthopoulos when asked Tuesday about why the team had come up short. For reasons such as these, the optics of Rogers’ financial commitment toward the Blue Jays will remain a sore point with their fans. One that has just a single cure: Winning. And that doesn’t appear imminent.
Toronto Sports Media (.com)
http://torontosportsmedia.com/toronto-b ... s+Media%29
Winning, everyone tell me will be the cure all for the Jays. Start winning and the dome will be full. Those who say have to be smarter than me and well, Rogers has to know this too. So why the stubborn refusal to spend? I know, the plan, the plan the plan. Well, I am here to tell Rogers, there is a huge appetite out there just waiting. I don’t think it waits forever, but it is there. Last night and the last few days was something I hope you paid attention to. Baseball fans are itching to get excited about this team. Either you feed that hunger or they starve to death.
CBS - Heyman
http://jon-heyman.blogs.cbssports.com/m ... 2/33978369
The Marlis remain a curiosity. Team president David Samson has suggested they lack interest, but owner Jeffrey Loria has give public quotes amounting to something along the lines of "we'll see.'' The Rangers are also believed to have interest even after winning the bid for star Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. The Cubs are said to interested but the status of their pursuit, and that of the Jays, remains unclear.
