2011/12 Toronto Blue Jays Off-Season

[Otsy]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/fanfuel/2011...osers_history/

The who's who of crap after Henke and Ward left town.

[dustyanddaflames]

Sounds like the Yankees won the posting bid for Hiroyuki Nakajima

[CaramonLS]

Anyone have an update on Darvish?

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Anyone have an update on Darvish?

I read somewhere last week that it is a 50/50 chance that he will be posted. His team would like to have some cash in their organization and given his age of 25 almost the same age as Matsuzaka (26) during his transition to MLB.

Some interesting tidbits below about Darvish's reservation of being posted.

By Luke Adams [December 6, 2011 at 4:04pm CST], MLB Trade Rumours:

Robert Whiting, an expert on Japanese baseball, told Morosi over the weekend that there's still no word on whether or not Yu Darvish will be posted.
Whiting told Morosi that Darvish became disillusioned with the posting process, partly because of the failure of Hisashi Iwakuma and the A's to work out a deal last year. He is also wary of the struggles and ridicule that other NPB stars have incurred in their transition to MLB, Whiting told Morosi.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/yu_darvish/ (keep scrolling down the page for more Darvish articles)

I am going to visit the inlaws in Sapporo during the spring 2012. I will definitely make another visit to the Sapporo Dome to catch the Ham Fighters hopefully seeing Darvish pitch again. In the summer of 2010, I watched an ex-Blue Jay on the mound for the Fighters. Brian Wolfe, the Jays-once casual starter and middle reliever. I was not expecting to see Wolfe pitching for the Fighters. He did well for his 2 shut out innings as a reliever.

[browna]

I'll admit, I've been following the MLB/Jays this offseason moreso, now that I've found HBT and DJF.

I realize that the Jays have a decent talent pool, that AA is a smart guy and has a lot of things in the hopper that balance contracts, ceilings and cap/contract flexibility and building peice by peice through the farm and throgh draft picks. I also know there are some glaring needs that the Jays need in the pitching department.

That all said, as a casual fan and I suppose many other casual fans ,that expect the Jays at some point to make that Roger Clemens-type splash with Rogers money that is supposedly available, and that people will feel a bit put off if the Jays don't go after Fielder significantly. There would be marketing opportunities, an instant tie-in and recognition for those extra casual fans who once remember his dad on the team 25 years ago (no matter the relationship now), and that bump up in the team's profile that they areserious for a playoff push, for those casual fans.

Of course, as all GM's you have to manage a number more moving parts and a big signing has to make sense from a team building, roster, and cap perspective, but with the media teasing that the Jays may be in on Fielder and AA saying he'd ony go 5 years, there is certainly strong strong interest in the player himself. Thus, it would disappoint some that the Jays can't won't spend the money to get that big splash player in, and assume that its going to be more of the same .500 Jays for 2012, if they can't land him after all this, and clearly the biggest, most recognizable name as a free agent when it comes to Toronto this year.

[flames_1987]

Originally Posted by browna

I'll admit, I've been following the MLB/Jays this offseason moreso, now that I've found HBT and DJF.

I realize that the Jays have a decent talent pool, that AA is a smart guy and has a lot of things in the hopper that balance contracts, ceilings and cap/contract flexibility and building peice by peice through the farm and throgh draft picks. I also know there are some glaring needs that the Jays need in the pitching department.

That all said, as a casual fan and I suppose many other casual fans ,that expect the Jays at some point to make that Roger Clemens-type splash with Rogers money that is supposedly available, and that people will feel a bit put off if the Jays don't go after Fielder significantly. There would be marketing opportunities, an instant tie-in and recognition for those extra casual fans who once remember his dad on the team 25 years ago (no matter the relationship now), and that bump up in the team's profile that they areserious for a playoff push, for those casual fans.

Of course, as all GM's you have to manage a number more moving parts and a big signing has to make sense from a team building, roster, and cap perspective, but with the media teasing that the Jays may be in on Fielder and AA saying he'd ony go 5 years, there is certainly strong strong interest in the player himself. Thus, it would disappoint some that the Jays can't won't spend the money to get that big splash player in, and assume that its going to be more of the same .500 Jays for 2012, if they can't land him after all this, and clearly the biggest, most recognizable name as a free agent when it comes to Toronto this year.

A couple of DJF articles that were incredibly well written today and it dives into the money that Rogers has put into this team through the draft and international signings.

It's bothering me a ton the last few days the amount of people putting this much stock into one free agent and that if the Jays don't land him, that it will simply be another average year at best. Especially when we are having this discussion on December 7th when the offseason has just begun. Even now the Jays have a much better shot at contending and improving over last season, and AA has talked a lot this offseason about how it's a different mood around the team from last year at this time and that the Jays will have a very active offseason.

Reading everything AA has had to say this offseason, it's obvious in his tone that moves are going to be made to help this team compete for the playoffs next season. I think the comments made about the payroll, simply are him showing signs of frustration about the Blue Jay's being tied to every single Free Agent and the idea that they should go Miami Marlins on this free agency class. I still feel very confident that if AA said to ownership that Fielder is the one missing link this team needs and they should do everything they can to get him, he would get the money and Fielder would become a Jay.

[flames_1987]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Anyone have an update on Darvish?

Expect to hear one by tomorrow

[flames_1987]

And Johnson accepts arbitration as most people thought he would. I'm fine with this, AA put himself in a win-win situation with either getting two quality picks or the best 2B on the market this offseason.

[Caged Great]

Good news.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Browna quick question: I know what DJF is but which blog is HBT?

Great news about Johnson, one less thing for Anthopolous to worry about.

[Caged Great]

Getting blanked, tao of stieb and DJF are the ones that I know.

[Caged Great]

Here's the current pay situation for the Jays

.........................2012...............2013.. ...............2014................2015........... ......,.2016.....................2017
Bautista..........15.....................15....... ..............15.....................15
Teahen.............5.5
Romero............5......................7.5...... ..............7.5....................7.5.......... ...........13.1
Lind...................5.......................5.. .....................7......................7.5... ....................8
Escobar.............5.....................,,5..... .................5........................5
Encarnacion...3.5
Davis.................2.75..................3
Mathis...............1.5
Santos.................1....................2.75.. .............3.75.....................6........... ...............8........................8.75
Litsch................0.975
McGowan..........0.6
Total.................45.825..............38.25... ..........38.25...................41.............. .......29.1.....................8.75

For guys not signed their 2011 salary below (likely salary in Brackets)

Johnson - 5.85 (6.25)
Morrow - 2.3 (4)
Villaneuava - 1.415 (1.8)
Janssen - 1.095 (1.4)
Valbuena - 0.414 (League min)
Cecil - 0.443 (.9)
Rasmus - 0.443 (3)
Snider - 0.435 (.9)
McCoy - 0.422 (League min)
Arencibia - 0.417 (League min)
Drabek - 0.416 (League min)
Lawrie - 0.411 (League min)
Thames - 0.411 (League min)

[browna]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

Browna quick question: I know what DJF is but which blog is HBT?

Sorry, Hardballtalk. Discovered
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/
Its a league wide thing obviously, not just a Jays thing, but updated as frequently as it can with quick and dirty updates.

As far as the Fielder thing goes, I agree that landing the big name isn't always the most prudent thing. That said, it appears there's more then a fleeting interest in (no more than) a 5 year deal from the Jays, so the player isn't in question.

All I said that the general casual Jays fans' perception of the willingness of Rogers to spend the money, after the GM says they are interested in Fielder, will be a poor one if he lands somewhere else for reasonable $. That naturally leads to skepticism of the entire organization going forward and true commitment to winning, no matter how much AA does in outshining fellow GMs on the smaller transactions. Rightly or wrongly, until the team makes the playoffs.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by flames_1987

Expect to hear one by tomorrow

"I have decided to use the posting system," he said. "I wanted to tell my fans directly, so that is why I am posting this on my blog."

Darvish, the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA this season for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He had 276 strikeouts to lead the Pacific League. ...

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7329764/japanese-pitcher-yu-darvish-wants-play-major-league-baseball-next-season

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by flames_1987

And Johnson accepts arbitration as most people thought he would. I'm fine with this, AA put himself in a win-win situation with either getting two quality picks or the best 2B on the market this offseason.

Personally I think it's perfect. This season will be a full evaluation one for his performance. Next year hopefully there are better free agents on the market if he does not impress.

IF he does then hey having another good bat in the lineup ain't a bad thing is it?

[Gozer]

Thought you meant HardBallTimes.

http://hardballtimes.com - league wide. Can be very heavy but also has weekly comics.

[dustyanddaflames]

Originally Posted by VERVE

"I have decided to use the posting system," he said. "I wanted to tell my fans directly, so that is why I am posting this on my blog."

Darvish, the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA this season for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He had 276 strikeouts to lead the Pacific League. ...

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7329764/japanese-pitcher-yu-darvish-wants-play-major-league-baseball-next-season

Being lazy, but can anyone here quickly tell me how Japenese stars stats parlay into the MLB? For Davish, are we looking at someone who might hover around a 3.00 ERA, higher or lower? I can't remember how Daisuke Matsuzaka was doing before he was posted and signed in Boston.

[dustyanddaflames]

A dozen teams are in on Athletics lefty Gio Gonzalez, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The latest:

• There are indications the Blue Jays and A's might add a third team to the discussions to try to find the right match for Gonzalez, writes Slusser. The A's seek "at least two high-value prospects and a few mid-range prospects."

Interesting, as AA sure seems to have a knack for these three-way deals.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by dustyanddaflames

Being lazy, but can anyone here quickly tell me how Japenese stars stats parlay into the MLB? For Davish, are we looking at someone who might hover around a 3.00 ERA, higher or lower? I can't remember how Daisuke Matsuzaka was doing before he was posted and signed in Boston.

There is no way to know, and that is the risk. He is widely considered the best starting pitcher not in the MLB right now. Many think he has good enough stuff to be an ace of a staff.

He also pitched extremely well at the world baseball championships (or whatever that tourney was) against mlb hitters.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by dustyanddaflames

[/LIST]Interesting, as AA sure seems to have a knack for these three-way deals.

Boy that sounds like a LOT to give up for Gio Gonzalez