AA must be high to make this statement

[tiger7]

Via Shi Davidi's Twitter feed:

AA on #BlueJays: “From a talent standpoint, we all know that the talent is there, it’s just that the results haven’t been there."

Are you kidding me?

AA on trade deadline: "From our standpoint, we’re having dialogue, I think it’s going to be quiet, I really don’t see us doing anything."

.....

[Lateral Quicks]

If he does nothing, he is not what we thought he was.

At the very least he should be trading Oliver.

He should also be trading Buerhle, Janssen, and Lind.

[Santoki]

AA's not going to come out and say his team is for sale, but it's pretty evident he'll be shopping surplus relievers and anyone he believes will not contribute to a postseason run in 2014.

[Waylon Mercy]

If he does nothing, he is not what we thought he was.

At the very least he should be trading Oliver.

He should also be trading Buerhle, Janssen, and Lind.

Why trade Janssen? Hes proven to be a reliable closer and they might be the
hardest things to find in all of sports.

[s e n s i]

If he does nothing, he is not what we thought he was.

At the very least he should be trading Oliver.

He should also be trading Buerhle, Janssen, and Lind.

Why trade Janssen? Hes proven to be a reliable closer and they might be the
hardest things to find in all of sports.

a reliable closer is definitely not one of the hardest things to find in all of sports

[shotcaller09]

Via Shi Davidi's Twitter feed:

AA on #BlueJays: “From a talent standpoint, we all know that the talent is there, it’s just that the results haven’t been there."

Are you kidding me?

AA on trade deadline: "From our standpoint, we’re having dialogue, I think it’s going to be quiet, I really don’t see us doing anything."

.....

Colangelo: "Its not a talent issue". Incompetent GMs think alike!

[Schad]

a reliable closer is definitely not one of the hardest things to find in all of sports

Indeed. It's also funny that Janssen is now a reliable closer only a few months removed from not being a real closer. Turns out, the only thing that causes you to go from one to the other is pitching in the 9th rather than the 8th.

As for AA's statement, he's right in that this team has players whose past performances would be more than enough to make the playoffs, if that's how you grade talent. We're not getting those past performances. Whether they'll ever come back remains to be seen, because this ain't a young team.

[kwamebargnani]

If he does nothing, he is not what we thought he was.

At the very least he should be trading Oliver.

He should also be trading Buerhle, Janssen, and Lind.

Why trade Janssen? Hes proven to be a reliable closer and they might be the
hardest things to find in all of sports.

-100 internet points for you.

[Yosemite Dan]

As for AA's statement, he's right in that this team has players whose past performances would be more than enough to make the playoffs, if that's how you grade talent. We're not getting those past performances. Whether they'll ever come back remains to be seen, because this ain't a young team.

So by that rationale then it would be the manager's fault for not getting the most out of his players (and in the Jays case, its woefully short) but then again you've said before that Gibbons is not a problem and the manager means little anyways and is just there to make pitching changes.

So its not the manager's fault and not the GM's fault. Just bad luck that we're in last place by a considerable margin with the highest payroll we've ever had.

[Waylon Mercy]

If he does nothing, he is not what we thought he was.

At the very least he should be trading Oliver.

He should also be trading Buerhle, Janssen, and Lind.

Why trade Janssen? Hes proven to be a reliable closer and they might be the
hardest things to find in all of sports.

-100 internet points for you.

This coming from a guy who was trashing Reyes one of the best SS in baseball yesterday...

Honestly the things some posters say never ever shocks me anymore...

a reliable closer is definitely not one of the hardest things to find in all of sports

In what world is this? I didn't know reliable closers grow on trees. I'm not saying CJ is a reliable
closer yet but in a small sample size he hasn't done anything to cause me any concerns.

So what's the herd like mentality on here's reasoning to get rid of CJ now? I'm interested to here
why you guys want to get rid of him?

[Schad]

No one wants to 'get rid' of Janssen. But as we have roughly 150 relievers, and Janssen is a free agent after next year, he's the most easily-replaced piece that is likely to have significant trade value.

[Waylon Mercy]

No one wants to 'get rid' of Janssen. But as we have roughly 150 relievers, and Janssen is a free agent after next year, he's the most easily-replaced piece that is likely to have significant trade value.

I'm not buying into some of the relievers being for real after half a season and I don't buy into
your theory of pitching in the 8th or 9th doesn't matter. If we're gonna blow this up and rebuild
then I can see why a CJ trade makes sense. As for now if he's rolling in the closer role I'll leave
him be as we have bigger fish to fry.

[Schad]

Pitching in the 8th/9th is important, but there's no mystical hurdle that prevents guys who are good in the 8th from being good in the 9th, and we have a group who have proven rather capable of pitching well in high leverage situations. Even if we don't blow it up, if we can turn Janssen into a useful piece and bump everyone up a spot, we should...he's going to get paid in a pretty substantial way after 2014, and I don't like big money contracts for relievers.

[Waylon Mercy]

I like Neil Wagner as a potential closer...As for CJ track record and durability shouldn't be
taken for granted. It's nice to not worry about the closer and SS for the first time in about 20 years
and have some stability at those positions going forward. Money doesn't seem to be an issue anymore
so I'm not worried about it as in years past. If they decide to blow it up I can understand moving them
and I know we don't have many assets to plug in other holes. I think the only way out of this mess right
now is to buy themselves out of it and invest in a proven manager and legit coaching staff if they can
find any. If Rogers enforces a strict budget we're basically screwed for awhile.

[There There]

So by that rationale then it would be the manager's fault for not getting the most out of his players (and in the Jays case, its woefully short) but then again you've said before that Gibbons is not a problem and the manager means little anyways and is just there to make pitching changes.

So its not the manager's fault and not the GM's fault. Just bad luck that we're in last place by a considerable margin with the highest payroll we've ever had.

Hockey mentality alert ! Make em work harder skip !

Here's a clue... When someone under performs at their job, despite being given roles that they are more than suited for, it's not on their direct manager, it's not on his direct manager, it's not on any VPs, it's not on the janitor cleaning the verbal diarrhea from your mouth, it's not on the ticket sellers, it's not on Wilner or Morris or Hayhurst or Howarth...

You know who is responsible? The players !! You know, the guys who are actually stinking up the joint night in and night out?

Personal responsibility, what a novel **** concept, I know...

[Yosemite Dan]

So by that rationale then it would be the manager's fault for not getting the most out of his players (and in the Jays case, its woefully short) but then again you've said before that Gibbons is not a problem and the manager means little anyways and is just there to make pitching changes.

So its not the manager's fault and not the GM's fault. Just bad luck that we're in last place by a considerable margin with the highest payroll we've ever had.

Hockey mentality alert ! Make em work harder skip !

Here's a clue... When someone under performs at their job, despite being given roles that they are more than suited for, it's not on their direct manager, it's not on his direct manager, it's not on any VPs, it's not on the janitor cleaning the verbal diarrhea from your mouth, it's not on the ticket sellers, it's not on Wilner or Morris or Hayhurst or Howarth...

You know who is responsible? The players !! You know, the guys who are actually stinking up the joint night in and night out?

Personal responsibility, what a novel **** concept, I know...

What the hell are you babbling about. If you say it's the players then who brought the players in? AA last time I checked and he did it by clearing out the farm and handcuffing us financially. If AA decides to bring in players from other losing teams and expect everything to come together and then no to be expected to be blamed then he's living a fantasy. Putting together a team is not like a video game. L.A. Lakers anyone?

If the players are of such questionable character that underperforming is a serious concern then that's all on the G.M. AA has done a piss poor job since taking over, the team is a complete mess. It's time to kick him upstairs to be Beeston's full time buddy and get a real baseball man who has some experience.

[Michael Bradley]

The talent is there, but the pitching has unexpectedly sucked, the defense has expectedly sucked (Boni/Lawrie at 2B, no Lawrie at 3B for a while, Reyes' limited range at short, etc), and the lack of OBP has been crippling.

Honestly, the best AA could probably do is bring back the same pitching staff next year (JJ looks like a lock to accept arby), improve the defense behind them, improve the OBP on the team (replace JPA/get a new 2B) and hope for better results. Outside of a total strip down, he does not have many options.

[There There]

What the hell are you babbling about. If you say it's the players then who brought the players in? AA last time I checked and he did it by clearing out the farm and handcuffing us financially. If AA decides to bring in players from other losing teams and expect everything to come together and then no to be expected to be blamed then he's living a fantasy. Putting together a team is not like a video game. L.A. Lakers anyone?

If the players are of such questionable character that underperforming is a serious concern then that's all on the G.M. AA has done a piss poor job since taking over, the team is a complete mess. It's time to kick him upstairs to be Beeston's full time buddy and get a real baseball man who has some experience.

You're either being wilfully stupid or are just trolling.

None of these players had a history of under-performing.

Dickey was NL Cy Young winner last season and excellent the prior two seasons.
Josh Johnson was one of the more dominant starters in baseball up until last season, when he was merely very good.

Both of them have underperformed expectations tremendously.
There is nothing in their history which suggests the performances they have provided this year.

Mark Buehrle has been Mark Buehrle. Which would be fine, if everyone else was performing up to expectations. It's not fine when Mark Buehrle being Mark Buehrle means he is one of your top starters.

Morrow has missed almost the entirety of the season.
Happ had the gall to take a liner to his **** head.

Which of those can you lay blame on Anthopoulos ?

You're so eager to hand out blame to management, where is the credit for the absolute lights out bullpen he assembled, which is the one of the single biggest reasons, this side of three guys named Bautista/Rasmus/Encarnacion, as to why this team is not the Houston Astros north

Where is the credit for the top 10 offense he has assembled ?

Yes there are holes behind the plate and at second. Yes there is a tonne of all or nothing in this lineup. But at the end of the day, this is a top 10 offense, and similar issues also exist in Atlanta and Pittsburgh, and those teams, like the Jays would have had the starters performed up to snuff, get by on excellent pitching.

The starting pitching, which based on past performances should have been the strength of this team, has been both unlucky with injury and absolutely **** atrocious.

Personal responsibility you **** dolt. The starters, and only them, are the one's responsible for this mess.

Now, if you were questioning the timing of going all in, and the cost to do so, then you would have a point. It's a legitimate argument if Anthopoulos made the right decision to make these moves now and go for it, as opposed to moving Bautista/Encarnacion as part of a continued prolonged rebuilding.

But instead of logically building an argument, you just want to make asinine statements that on field performance is somehow the fault of management, when said on field performers are WAY under-performing anyone's expectations for them.

[kwamebargnani]

This coming from a guy who was trashing Reyes one of the best SS in baseball yesterday...

Honestly the things some posters say never ever shocks me anymore...

Get your facts straight. I wasn't talking about Reyes. I was talking about his contract and a normal aging curve for a player over 30. Again -300 internet points for you.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

If he does nothing, he is not what we thought he was.

At the very least he should be trading Oliver.

He should also be trading Buerhle, Janssen, and Lind.

Why trade Janssen? Hes proven to be a reliable closer and they might be the
hardest things to find in all of sports.

a reliable closer is definitely not one of the hardest things to find in all of sports

As a Philadelphia Flyers fan, I can definitely say that finding a good goaltender is definitely more challenging to find than a reliable closer.
As a New York Jets fan, I can definitely say that finding a good quarterback is definitely more challenging to find than a reliable closer.
As a Toronto Raptors fan, I can definitely say that finding a good basketball player is definitely more challenging to find than a reliable closer.