Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy Lidstrom
That is due to two things: My chicken little attitude and my argument of proven quality over potential for current chances at a championship.
Sure Lind is looking great and Snider is the 6th best prospect in baseball, but Bay was a legitimate 30hr power bat. Snider is not an everyday major-leaguer on a tam looking to compete. On a rebuilding squad he will have the chance to struggle like most rookies normally do. He has all the potential in the world, but face facts he isn't our current saviour and was exposed this year opposition scouts.
A player like doc is a great example for my point, he is almost played out his current deal, Snider showed he can't help this current squad, so what do you want ? I personally, would deal the promise of tomorrow(to a degree) for major league talent to supplement a player like doc. That guy will get huge dollars thrown at him from competitors and to him -one reason why I respect him so much- it's not solely about the dollars, he's about success and loyalty.
Tomorro or today, who's right?
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In baseball, tomorrow.
A team like the Jays has to build through the draft. It's the only way to compete with high salary teams. Snider will be making around 500k for the next couple years and even when he's arbitration eligible he'l still be in that $6-8mil range maximum. Meanwhile, Bay will likely be making $15-20mil in free agency. That's 20-25% of the Jays' total salary (which isn't at the bottom end of the ladder too). It's not like hockey where the Flames can sign Bouwmeester to a huge deal and only take up about 11% of their total salary.
The way baseball is set up guys like Snider are much more valuable than an equivalent youngster in hockey. Teams like the Jays absolutely have to take advantage of the entry-level and arbitration years. That's why teams like the Twins and Indians have been successful in recent years