Winter of my Discontent returns

It could I have covered this ground before, but comments attributed to GM Alex Anthopolous suggest that we should not hold outr collective breaths that free agents or further deals be made, at least not those that would increase the payroll.

So to sum things up for theis off season, here are the changes.

Traded  a AA pitching prospect for Sergio Santos, should be a good move.
Signed Jeff Mathis as the back up catcher, Jeff batting average is not the reason for his acquisition.
Signed Ben Fransisco as a potential 4rth/5th outfielder.
Signed Darren Oliver to a 2 year deal ( 2nd year a club option )

Also, played cat and mouse with fans and media over Yu Darvish, and feigned marginal interest in Prince Fielder if he was interested at all.

All in all a real haul this off season. Matt Garza talks stalled due to incredible demands by the Cubs, and I suspect a similar set of demands from Oakland for Gio Gonzalez.

I feel like we are out in the cold this off season myself. 

Still we have a great "potential" rotation, and a great "potential" line up.

Emphasis on "potential ".

Fans might have been hoping for more, but as a small market team with limited resources (Rogers) we should not expect they had the ability to land marquee talent.   I can hardly wait for Paul Beeston to come on talk radio stations and admit to listeners that all Alex Anthopolous has to do is ask for money and it is there.  Also come July if the Jays are in the hunt, that we will take on payroll.   

Good for you Socks, come July you will be summering in the Kawartha's and making the trip to the park to see how many empty seats we have with a sub .500 record.  Then as usual, there will some comment on the lack of fan support, and that translating into a lack of revenue divided by the square root of "I don't give a crap".

Another year where we have to hope for maturation of Brett Cecil, Brandon Morrow, Henderson Alvarez and Luis Perez, or Kyle Drabek.  A bullpen with a 41 year old spot lefty, and well the same cast of characters as last year. No, there is no Jon Rauch or Franky McFrank Frank, but they have been replaced with cheaper less experienced dudes.

If I sound bitter, I am. This sham has gone on long enough, and I do think the bloom is off the rose for Alex.

Press conferences that he runs had better not start with payroll balancing, or cost certainty, or they will get ugly.

Larkin achieves highest honour

Today Barry Larkin climbed the last 10 feet and has reached the summit in baseball having been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Having garnered 86 % of the vote, he easily made it and desrvedly so.

This was a player who spanned 3 different decades, 80's, 90's and into the next centennial.  Barry played short stop for the Cincinnati Red legs of the National League, and played one of its hardest positions, shortstop.

Gold Gloves were racked up, All Star invites, MVP considerations and all while bveing the key piece offensively in the Reds line up.

I would watch the Reds play the Expos just watch him field, or throw, and his abilities to be the game changer on offense made him the best hitting shortstop of era.


He only made the one appearance in the World Series in 1990, and excelled fuelling his team's surprise sweep of the Steroid induced Oakland A's.


And so this year at Cooperstown, he and the late Ron Santo will be the latest inductees.

Congratulations, one year late.

Prince Fielder American Tour for Cash

Hello Followers, and a Happy New Year to all !

We are getting closer to the pitchers/catchers countdown being posted on MLB's web site, so let's start the new year off right, and ask what the heck is the leagues biggest free agent ( salary and girth ) doing.

The Prince of Fielder is roaming the country seeking a big wad o' cash, with super agent Scott Boras telling every newspaper or TV reporter his boy Fielder will be getting a 10 year deal, you know, like he got for Arod, and like what that other 1st baseman got in LA.  You remember that Pujols kid, with the 2 World Series rings, and MVP's.  Well sure we do, we just have not seen that from Fielder, yet.

Prince was entertained in Baltimore, Seattle, Chicago, Texas, and Washington, plus the 30 other suitors reported by trustworthy Scott Boras.  Days are passing by, and no one has offered him a 10 year deal.
Peter Gammons reported he'd heard 3- 5 years were offered, and Boras rebuffed those remarks, made by an out sider, someone who does not have the ears of GM's. And while that might be the truth, I am going to give Gammons the benefit of the doubt, at least until proven otherwise.

The Orioles claim they are out, Boras says, well not completely, the Cubs have sniffed around, but made no offer, and Boras says they are being coy, and a big offer is coming. So far the only team that has discussed numbers it seems is the team I am sure he would never want to sign long term with, the Nats.
The Nats are in a slow building mode, and just ask them about long term deals, and they will answer..."Jayson Werth".
I suspect he wants to play in Chicago, and if he does, he will have to accept a lesser term, and manageable money. Theo Esptein would like to make a splash, but is in the process of trying to assess the Cubs needs....which is...every thing it seems.  Adding a 10 yr dead weighted deal does not seem like a smart play, besides, who else is offering 10 years ?  hands up ....

My thoughts are this will drag until late into January, only because of 2 things ;

1) Scott Boras' ego, needing the 10 year deal to prove to other clients that he 'da boss'
2) Lack of needy markets, no LA teams, no NY teams, no room in Boston, Detroit and Philly.

If there is a 3rd reason why I am guessing later in January, it is that if Texas does not iron out a deal in the next two weeks with Yu Darvish, he drops off their team, and maybe Boras wants to wait until the Rangers are maybe a player for Prince.

Meanwhile, Alex is rebuilding the Jays bullpen, with the acquisition of Darren Oliver, Aaron Laffey and the trade for Jason Fraser. This plus the minor league FA's he offered tryouts to, and the bullpen rebuild is complete.
Neither cost a much money, and Oliver's deal is essentially a 1 year deal, perhaps there is a club option as well.
I am still hearing from the local bloggers in Toronto that Jays are a player for Prince, if he could accept a 3 year deal. That story is a horse that won't run. Rogers is not spotting $ 50 million for 3 years of Fielder if the rest of the team is constructed as it currently is, you want at least 5 years of service, not 3.

So we have to be patient, and play Scott Boras' game of sit and wait for someone to blink, and the tour might start back up with stops in Atllanta, Tampa Bay, pass through Milwaukee to another drop in Chicago and Washington.  I hope Prince is watching his calories these days, that restaurant food, and room service will pack on the pounds.