2011/2012 MLB Off-season Thread

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Out East most people are Jays fans.

There are a handful of Yankees and Red Sox fans, as well as a sprinkle of random teams (which I without question fall into). But for the most part everyone's a Jays fan. If you're not a Jays fan people still hold the Jays in a weird regard that they want to see them do well.

[Cheerio]

I'm a Rays fan and my only other friend who follows baseball who lives in Calgary is a Twins fan. I don't think there are all that many hardcore Jays fans in Calgary (at least not in my circle of friends), but I think most people want to see the Jays do well because then we can say "fata you" to the Americans

[moon]

Originally Posted by dustyanddaflames

I don't know though moon, I think we'd be all shocked at the hype the Jays would get if they did advance to the playoffs. It has been so long that when/if the Jays do clinch a playoff birth, the publicity of it would be really hard to not notice. I really hope that it happens within a couple years - because baseball in Canada really needs a kick in the rear, and I think the best thing to happen, would be the Jays become relevant again.

I think the hype would be there for sure. The jays are already getting forced on Canada as I mentioned earlier without success so I can imagine the media if they did have some success.

I just think that with the combination of people who don't care about baseball and who support other teams that it wouldn't be that big a deal outside of TO and perhaps the East according to Maritime Q-Scout.

Perhaps I am basing it to much on personal experience and I happen to miss out on all the Jays fans out here but it seems from my experience baseball ranks pretty low amongst most people I know, sports fans included.

[dustyanddaflames]

You may be right - I just think that a lot of people have focused their attention to other teams because the Jays have lacked success for so long, that it was easier to follow a club with a massive payrolll who had a chance at the playoffs year after year.

I can't say that I was a bigger White Sox/Padres fan than a Jays fan, but I found myself paying a lot closer attention to them come June because: 1. the Jays were already outta things 2. their stories were captivating at the time. I guess I just feel that a lot of baseball fans in Canada are waiting for the Jays to be relevant again before breaking out the merchandise. I know even in Orlando/Mexico, I have seen a lot of Jays new hats in the past two months. I don't know if it is because they are sharp looking hats, or a lot of people are getting on board with Anthopolous and the direction the club is headed. I am going to side with latter.

[troutman]

Long-term I think it would be wise for the Jays to build a more intimate boutique baseball-only park.

[howard_the_duck]

I think more casual sports fans have a really hard time sitting through a 162 game season with any interest.

Playoffs are a different story, and I truly think that if the Jays somehow find a way to squeak in sometime in the next couple years you'd see a lot of the more casual fans come out and be a lot more public about their interest. I could very easily see bars packed for Jays games and I could see that carrying over to the regular season if the succss is sustained.

And Dusty is right, the Canadian baseball audience could sure use it.

[moon]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

I could very easily see bars packed for Jays games and I could see that carrying over to the regular season if the succss is sustained.

Bars in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton etc. or bars in TO?

I agree bars in TO could be busy but doubt that bars outside of there, especially in the west, would be packed or all that much more busy.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by moon

Bars in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton etc. or bars in TO?

I agree bars in TO could be busy but doubt that bars outside of there, especially in the west, would be packed or all that much more busy.

I do actually think they'd be packed/more full across the country. I think there'd be somewhat of a bandwagon mentality, but again purely my opinion.

Guys don't usually need that big of a nudge to get together with their friends and have a few beer and the Jays in the playoffs would be a legitimate excuse.

[troutman]

Giants' Wilson, Posey pick up where they left off

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...SPNS1NJ8OG.DTL

[dustyanddaflames]

Trout - what are your feelings on the Giants and Cain/Lincecum and what is going to happen? Can't say I really follow them much outside of banter on MLB Radio.

[troutman]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/0...l-beltran.html

• “Budget won’t be a factor," said GM Brian Sabean when asked about signing both Cain and Tim Lincecum long-term. "We’ll have enough wherewithal in the budget that we won’t have to pick. Whether that happens, I can’t predict. But we have it in the budget to sign both players.”

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...ecum-long-term

My gut feel is that Cain will indeed sign a long-term deal for five or six years. Look for a deal to be worked out for five years and about $96 million or six years and $115 million.

Cain is a family man and likes the Bay Area and the Giants. That stability is a point in the Giants' favor, but Cain will still be very expensive.

It's doubtful the Giants will be able to do anything with Lincecum's contract this season. That being the case, it will be imperative for the Giants to complete a deal prior to the 2013 season.

Lincecum will be even more expensive than Cain and the Giants will still owe Barry Zito another $27 million heading into the 2013 season. The Giants' ownership group will need to bite the bullet and get a deal done.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/G...cecum-47140066

"The Giants' preference is to sign Timmy long term," Thurman said. "They know where we stand on the issues. Nothing has really changed on our end. Our talks would have to progress further down the line to advance it to more of a long-term negotiation."

Despite the high stakes, the Giants insist they are committed to retaining both Cain and Lincecum, and by all accounts, negotiations have been professional to date.

[Drake]

"Little excitement, set the tone. Protecting my players," Guillen said. "That's it. My first-base coach told me the ball was fair, I'm going to believe him.
"What's the difference between Spring Training and during the season? I do my job, the umpires have to do their job, the players have to do their job. My job is to protect the players. I don't see this game as different than others."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...k_mia&c_id=mia

[dustyanddaflames]

I love Ozzie - just happy he isn't the Jays' manager

[transplant99]

Andy pettitte coming back.....signs one year deal with Yankees.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Despite WFAA-TV's best efforts over the summer to lure Derek Holland from the Texas Rangers to be their TV weather man, Holland signed a 5-year contract with the Rangers with a club option of two additional years.

Good news for a team to whose rotation is under 30 (minus Colby Lewis) and delectably top two guys are 25 or under (Darvish/Holland).

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-bi...125124295.html

[dustyanddaflames]

I still worry that Texas is missing that "top of the rotation" guy come playoff time - there is no doubt that they can outswing most clubs, but I feel still need that ace in October that can almost assure them two wins in a seven game set.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by dustyanddaflames

I still worry that Texas is missing that "top of the rotation" guy come playoff time - there is no doubt that they can outswing most clubs, but I feel still need that ace in October that can almost assure them two wins in a seven game set.

Yep I agree, my hope is that Darvish can step up and be that guy (or Holland, I don't think he's that far off of being an elite pitcher).

That said they did have Cliff "I never lose in the playoffs" Lee, and that didn't get them very far in the World Series two years ago.

I don't think anyone anticipated CJ Wilson to struggle as he did in the playoffs last year. If Darvish picks up a win where Wilson didn't, there's the difference.

Again, I have to look on the positive side. I'm excited, but my stomach still goes into knots when I think about what happened last season

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Shawn Camp signed a deal with Seattle about a month ago............and has now been released.

[troutman]

Difficult decisions for SF Giants on reserves
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...SPQQ1NN04M.DTL

Outfielder Gregor Blanco, a 28-year-old Venezuelan whose speed has been the talk of the Cactus League, is as close to a stone-cold lock as any nonroster invitee could be.

Blanco has been a blur. He nearly had an inside-the-park home run in his first game of camp, an intrasquad game. He has scored from second on a wild pitch, gone from first to third on a grounder to the right side and turned a routine single to right into a double.

Bochy declared that Blanco is faster than Andres Torres. In 14 Cactus League games, Blanco has played center field as well as Torres did. As a plus, Blanco has gone 16-for-36 (.444) with a .512 on-base percentage.

If Blanco is all but assured one bench spot, four are up for grabs.

One will be a backup catcher, with Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart in a competition too close to call, particularly because Whiteside has demonstrated he can throw now that his right elbow is healed.

That would leave Brett Pill, Brandon Belt, Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Emmanuel Burriss and Joaquin Arias competing for three jobs.

[nickerjones]

Well it's a sad day for me boys... My hero, Chipper Jones, has announced that he will hang up the spikes after this season.... http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/77...ire-end-season

I was a young guy when Chipper was drafted. For as long as I can remember I tried to emulate the way he played. While you Calgarians were pretending to be Al Macinnis , Theo Fluery, or Lanny Macdonald at the local outdoor rink playing shinny.. I was out on a diamond wearing #10 pretending to be Chipper. Chipper is all class and is a first ballot hall of famer for sure. Here is hoping the Braves can find a way to send this ballplayer out on top this year.