Syl, I agree, yet it does seem to be a nationwide problem that doesn't affect the leafs though.
Tyler, Management is not incompetent. 3 winning seasons out of the last five years isn't bad (winning seasons are finishes are above 500). The farm system, while not baseball america certified, is stronger than previous years with players like Hill, Lind, Snider, Romero, Zep who are all on JP's resume. And JP's FA isn't so bad with guys like barajas and scutaro turning themselves into type a free agent roles. Ryan wasn't bad at the time and looked dominant in his first season, injuries can't be held against JP. AJ was a bad contract because of the opt out year.
Thus, the management isn't incompetent. It's facing a near insurmountable difference in terms of payroll and talent gaps. The yanks spent 300 mill last summer on three dudes. Boston, LA and NYY all are at the top of the list when it comes to farm system investing and this to me is another factor that doesn't get talked about enough when defending the jays plight.
The only incompetence, to me, is on the point concerning this last draft's official stance to go overslot for players. Two canadaians wanted above slot money and we didn't cough up. A few measley thousand is a slap in the face to fans who were finally excited about our new alleged spending habits. But to me there is light on the horizon. This is some of the best bluejays related news I have heard in nearly 4 months and it's only speculative:
http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiret...eturn_to_jays/
Got Gillick?