ST: Mariners @ Blue Jays, May 3-5, 2013

[Harry Palmer]

This is just impossible to watch. We're learning the hard way that a fantasy league GM with no natural eye for baseball talent can't assemble a winning major league team.

Unfair, I think. Several players are playing below established norms. How a GM is supposed to anticipate that, I have no idea. I think we underestimated the degree to which our holes at DH and 2b carry over when others are struggling, but most of the rest was beyond reasonable anticipation.

I have a natural predisposition to teams built from within via youth...I have always enjoyed watching a superstar grow and blossom rather than acquiring an established one...but I can't fault AA for taking a calculated risk this year, especially with the (seeming) Red Sox/Yankees window.

I'm not going to fault him now that it hasn't worked.

[C Court]

Anthopoulis is not a natural baseball guy. He's never played the game, never managed a team and only has held lower level scouting jobs before moving into the front office.

When Alex Anthopoulos, who built the team, decided to make baseball his life, he had no baseball background and no contacts. He was a 23-year-old Montrealer running a heating and ventilation business started by his Greek-immigrant father. Today, at 35, he’s starting his fourth season as the Jays’ head of baseball operations.

[Schad]

Anthopoulis is not a natural baseball guy. He's never played the game, never managed a team and only has held lower level scouting jobs before moving into the front office.

When Alex Anthopoulos, who built the team, decided to make baseball his life, he had no baseball background and no contacts. He was a 23-year-old Montrealer running a heating and ventilation business started by his Greek-immigrant father. Today, at 35, he’s starting his fourth season as the Jays’ head of baseball operations.

This is a dumb argument. Brian Cashman has won a pile of titles; he followed the exact same path that Anthopolous did, starting as an intern and working his way up to GM. Playing baseball has absolutely no influence over one's ability to judge talent.

[Mehar]

Guys to cheer everyone up. I am listening to the post-game show and Mike WIlner said that this team will start to play a lot better, than Bonifacio has had only 70 at bats or so, and that this team needs more time and will get rolling eventually. Be patient everyone. There is no problems with this team, but they have been facing great pitchers recently and this team needs more time.

[changes]

Like every other toronto team, this franchise has taken some pride in meaningless end season runs over the years.

It might be a hell of a september run to get back up to .500, people better get ready for it.

[s e n s i]

Anthopoulis is not a natural baseball guy. He's never played the game, never managed a team and only has held lower level scouting jobs before moving into the front office.

and neither has theo epstein, brian cashman, andrew friedman, dave dombrowski, john mozeliak, ben cherington, jon daniels etc...etc...etc...

[youreachiteach]

I don't blame AA in terms of what he did; he assembled the most talent he could for the approach he was forced to follow.

AA got a lot of talent on the "cheap" despite it's overall price tag and he basically indicated himself that his strategy was a risky one (rather than the alternate of spending big free agency money) and it has cost him.

Rasmus: cheap because of the holes in his swing--was it beyond reasonable expectation he would continue to suck? Did it not follow that he would continue to struggle with the coaching staff's entreaties?
Lind: locked up long term to a cheap deal--problem was they signed him too early and he sucked. (Not all AA's fault)
Morrow: Got him for a reliever because of his medical issue. Was it beyond reasonable that he might have continued medically related injury and inconsistency? Nope.
Dickey: Is 38 years old and not a Roy Halladay in terms of his fitness level--was it beyond reasonable he could start developing physical injuries? That's why he was cheap.
Bonifacio: was acquired as an extra, but was it beyond comprehension that he would continue to play without a position?
Romero: Was horribe the previous year, and was the worst pitcher in baseball. Was it beyond comprehension that he would continue to suck (especially given how poor his regression numbers were the previous season to that despite his success)?
JP: Was it beyond the pale that he would strike out a ton and continue to provide below average defense?
Lawrie: Was mercurial and teams felt that he would get injured due to his attitude--sound familiar?
Melky: cheap because of ped's. Was it beyond the pale he might regress more than he should because of the lack of enhancers?
JBau; Was it beyond the pale that bautista would be a streaky player who might take a while to get going?
Buerle: Was it too much to expect that a pitcher who probably was done in the American league when he went to the National league was going to be average at best?
Johnson: Was it unlikely that a pitcher no one wanted to acquire due to his injury issues might continue to get injurred?
Reyes: I don't think it took a magician to imagine he might miss 40 games this year.

Basically, by not paying full price for better options on the market, AA took the cheap route and maximized the value he received. That's great and all--but things are cheap for a reason. And when push comes to shove, sometimes those discounts come back to bite you in the ass.

[youreachiteach]

AA was a scout, so he has a natural inclination to draft /acquire athletes with raw tools--that can be both a blessing and a curse.

[Yosemite Dan]

If the Jays keep playing like this, I won't blame anybody for not wanting to watch them. But that doesn't mean I won't continue to call out the trolls and bandwagoners for what they are.

The verbal diarrhea that comes out of your mouth sometimes is just astounding.

[Schad]

If the Jays keep playing like this, I won't blame anybody for not wanting to watch them. But that doesn't mean I won't continue to call out the trolls and bandwagoners for what they are.

The verbal diarrhea that comes out of your mouth sometimes is just astounding.

Likewise.

[C Court]

I like AA, but when you look at the deals he's made, the results have not been that good. Outside of Morrow and Lawrie, Alex's trade record is not stellar. He's an active trader, but his deals generally don't make the Jays markedly better.

His selection of manager's hasn't been great either.

At some point this team's dismal record has to fall on the shoulders of the architect.

[Randle McMurphy]

Anthopoulis is not a natural baseball guy. He's never played the game, never managed a team and only has held lower level scouting jobs before moving into the front office.

and neither has theo epstein, brian cashman, andrew friedman, dave dombrowski, john mozeliak, ben cherington, jon daniels etc...etc...etc...

They could have been fantasy GMs, though.

[J-Roc]

This is just impossible to watch. We're learning the hard way that a fantasy league GM with no natural eye for baseball talent can't assemble a winning major league team.

Unfair, I think. Several players are playing below established norms. How a GM is supposed to anticipate that, I have no idea. I think we underestimated the degree to which our holes at DH and 2b carry over when others are struggling, but most of the rest was beyond reasonable anticipation.

I have a natural predisposition to teams built from within via youth...I have always enjoyed watching a superstar grow and blossom rather than acquiring an established one...but I can't fault AA for taking a calculated risk this year, especially with the (seeming) Red Sox/Yankees window.

I'm not going to fault him now that it hasn't worked.

I think the fact AA left 2b and DH as weak spots shows he thought too much of what all the other players brought on paper. But at the end of the day were counting on so many un clutch players to come through.


Sent using the RealGM mobile app.

[Randle McMurphy]

If the Jays keep playing like this, I won't blame anybody for not wanting to watch them. But that doesn't mean I won't continue to call out the trolls and bandwagoners for what they are.

The verbal diarrhea that comes out of your mouth sometimes is just astounding.

Oh, the irony.

[Yosemite Dan]

If the Jays keep playing like this, I won't blame anybody for not wanting to watch them. But that doesn't mean I won't continue to call out the trolls and bandwagoners for what they are.

The verbal diarrhea that comes out of your mouth sometimes is just astounding.

Likewise.

But it's early.

[Waylon Mercy]

AA does come from a fantasy baseball background. He was in a league in Montreal
that used advanced stats and finished in last place then made some moves and
finished in the top 3. If I remember correctly that was in 2000. How he became
Assistant GM a few years later is incredible but not surprising since we nabbed
Gord Ash from ticket sales.

On another note if you want to start making money bet on whoever the Jays play
or any Toronto team for that matter.

[Michael Bradley]

This is just impossible to watch. We're learning the hard way that a fantasy league GM with no natural eye for baseball talent can't assemble a winning major league team.

Unfair, I think. Several players are playing below established norms. How a GM is supposed to anticipate that, I have no idea. I think we underestimated the degree to which our holes at DH and 2b carry over when others are struggling, but most of the rest was beyond reasonable anticipation.

I have a natural predisposition to teams built from within via youth...I have always enjoyed watching a superstar grow and blossom rather than acquiring an established one...but I can't fault AA for taking a calculated risk this year, especially with the (seeming) Red Sox/Yankees window.

I'm not going to fault him now that it hasn't worked.

Agreed. I think AA assumed the stars would compensate for the weak areas (Lind, 2B, etc), but that has not been the case at all. The lack of OBP in general with the loss of Reyes and underachievement of practically everyone else is probably the biggest issue.

As I mentioned before, AA had two options prior to the season; rebuild or go for it with Bautista as his top guy. He went with the latter. I can't fault him for choosing a side and going all-in, especially in Toronto sports where hardly any team goes one direction (rebuilding or going for it). It just hasn't worked out.

If people want him fired for that, then that's their opinion. I disagree, but clearly nothing will change as far as opinion is concerned. Man, it's going to be a long summer.

[C Court]

AA has made 40 trades as Jays GM and his overall record is not stellar. I'm not just looking at the most recent moves.

Halladay was traded for Drabek and D'Aunaud. We got Napoli for Wells and then flipped him for nothing. Aaron Hill would look great at second base if not for another bad trade.

Check AA's deals and there aren't many that he's won at. Most are lateral moves at best.

If Colangelo was making trades like this and had a 10-20 record after a blockbuster deal, most of RGM would be calling for his head.

Its time to look fairly at Alex's record and you will see its not as good as you think. Boy Wonder's batting average is mediocre.

[Graham's Cracker]

AA has made 40 trades as Jays GM and his overall record is not stellar. I'm not just looking at the most recent moves.

Halladay was traded for Drabek and D'Aunaud. We got Napoli for Wells and then flipped him for nothing. Aaron Hill would look great at second base if not for another bad trade.

Check AA's deals and there aren't many that he's won at. Most are lateral moves at best.

If Colangelo was making trades like this and had a 10-20 record after a blockbuster deal, most of RGM would be calling for his head.

Its time to look fairly at Alex's record and you will see its not as good as you think. Boy Wonder's batting average is mediocre.

Are you leaving out key pieces from stated deals mistakenly or purposely to fit your agenda?

[Santoki]

It seems the narrative has shifted to 2B and DH being the main offensive problems. The reason those areas weren't addressed was because we thought we had enough in other positions - and that's been the big problem. We had to rely on guys like Lawrie, Rasmus, and Arencibia to produce. Those were the three wildcards. None of them have produced and it's made the DH/2B problem even bigger.

On the other side, our bullpen has been amazing so it makes it seem like our starting pitching hasn't been that bad (thanks to low runs against the past 10 games or so). But, really, pitching and defense have been atrocious. There are really zero positives right now outside of literally Brett Cecil and Casey Janssen.