Quote:
Originally Posted by adc
Have you listened to a Sportsnet radio or TV show? You would think the Jays just let Scott Bowman at the end of his 5 year Cup run with the Canadians go with the way they are talking about AA. Throw in the crap they are spewing about Shapiro and its hard to see how they are in any way being muzzled by Rogers.
BS
Free Agents go where the money is. Florida has crapped on players and fans more than any other organization and they signed Buerhle, Reyes and Stanton to FA deals recently. If Rogers is willing to pay they will get FA's, if not they won't. That has zero to do with keeping AA this year or not.
|
For the Jays to sign a free agent, they will have to not just pay the ridiculous contracts, they will have to significantly outbid other teams significantly because their reputation is garbage. AA leaving is not going to do anything to fix this reputation. It's not the City of Toronto that's the reason for players not wanting to play there, it's the reputation the organization has around the league. MLBPA polls consistently shines in favour of Toronto. So why when it comes time to sign someone, does Toronto get the short end of the stick and has been since Rogers took over? People will automatically point towards taxes, but that is complete BS. A player playing in California or New York will take home less than they do in Ontario, and there are many other states who are on par.
Florida is a terrible example. Miami sells itself. Most players live in the area in the off-season with their families already entrenched in the communities. They can make huge money, live in a jurisdiction with no personal income taxes, and not a single person cares about baseball in Miami, so they can stay relatively low key while living like a celebrity on South Beach. The City also has a very hispanic flavour and culture which is a major selling point to a lot of the league. There's a not a team in the league that can offer what the Marlins can.