2012-2013 Toronto Blue Jays Off Season Thread

[TitovFTW]

Jayson Sark
Eye-opening stat from Buster's blog today: #Mets were 53-39 last 3 yrs when R.A. Dickey started -- and 177-217 when anyone else pitched

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Ricky Romero ‏@RickyRo24

Welcome to the #Jays @RADickey43 This pumps me up!!! One goal in mind... Win!!! That's all!!! #AllIn

[Frequitude]

Might AA have overpaid? Sure.

But he sees a rare window where both the Yankees and Red Sox are in a dip and he's attacking.

Love it.

[Lil Pedro]

It is Opening Day yet?

[moon]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Might AA have overpaid? Sure.

But he sees a rare window where both the Yankees and Red Sox are in a dip and he's attacking.

Love it.

Haven't the Yankees been in a dip for the past 10 years?

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by moon

Haven't the Yankees been in a dip for the past 10 years?

Less than 90 wins once in 10 years is a dip?

[moon]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Less than 90 wins once in 10 years is a dip?

That's my point.

How many times have we heard about the Yankees being too old, full of holes, in trouble etc.

I am not saying they are strong right now but based on what they have done over the past 20 years I think I would wait until they are out before talking about them being down.

[d_phaneuf]

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi
Polled 20 scouts and execs tonight, asked them to pick AL East winner if season started today: TOR-13, NYY-5, TB-1, BAL-1, BOS-0. @MLBONFOX

[Caged Great]

Was the one that picked baltimore work for the O's? That's about the only way that makes sense.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by jschick88

R.A Dickey:

Now that its official, I want to say that I don't have the words to express how grateful I am to you for the steadfast support and...

Encouragement I received from all of you.Ive always felt that there was a connection beyond the uniform.Thank you for making me feel wanted

Looking forward to a new chapter with the Jays.

https://twitter.com/RADickey43

Man before you posted his Twitter at the bottom of the post, I was like 'Man, this dude has really made an impact in Jschick88's life...'

[moon]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Was the one that picked baltimore work for the O's? That's about the only way that makes sense.

How silly would the one that picked the O's last year look?

I doubt that they win it but they do have a full year of Dylan Bundy this year which will help.

Plus much like Craig Button and his stupid lists someone always wants to be the guy who picks the underdog to brag about it later, while most forget about the crazy pick if it doesn't turn out.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by TitovFTW

One other good point I heard mentioned was how much longer catches can take to develop at the MLB level. Travis D'Arnaud even if he's an all star in 4 years, how much does that even mean to the Jays at a time when Bautista, Reyes, EE exc. are all gone?

I think the whole "catchers taking a long time to develop" is the reason D'Arnaud was available. From what I've read, lots of people around the Jays aren't surprised he's gone.

You take a guy with a history of injuries, add in a knee injury last season in a position that's killer on the body (and especially the knees). By the time he develops as a catcher, the toll on his body could easily put him into Joe Mauer territory where he's playing all over the diamond. D'Arnaud's bat isn't elite enough that he's an top 15-20 prospect if he's not a catcher. I think the Jays just figured that by the time he developed, who knows where he's playing. And by that time, our core guys are well past their prime anyways.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by moon

That's my point.

How many times have we heard about the Yankees being too old, full of holes, in trouble etc.

I am not saying they are strong right now but based on what they have done over the past 20 years I think I would wait until they are out before talking about them being down.

Yes. Anyways, back to the point. Its been a long time since the Yankees and the Sox have collectively looked this weak. Glad to see AA pouncing.

[VERVE]

World Series Odds
(odds updated 12/17/12)

Toronto Blue Jays
8/1
Los Angeles Angels
17/2
Los Angeles Dodgers
17/2
Washington Nationals
9/1
Detroit Tigers
10/1
Cincinnati Reds
12/1
New York Yankees
12/1
Texas Rangers
12/1
San Francisco Giants
14/1
Philadelphia Phillies
15/1
Atlanta Braves
18/1
Boston Red Sox
25/1
St. Louis Cardinals
25/1
Tampa Bay Rays
25/1
Oakland Athletics
28/1

[puffnstuff]

When's opening day?

[Gozer]

Think the Angels might move Kendrys Morales, with Trumbo/Hamilton able to DH while keeping Bourjous as a 3/4OF?

If they see him as a redundant asset, he might be moved. And the Jays seem like a great fit.
Not sure what they'd ask for that I'd want to give up...not major league contracts. Adonyis Cordona + ?
Young controllable talent might be very attractive to them with two players being paid a combined NHL payroll.

[Caged Great]

The way I view the Dickey trade is basically getting a Halladay caliber pitcher back.

We traded D'Arnaud, and a Gose equivalent pitching prospect, and got a Darren Fletcher light catcher in return in addition to Dickey.

I'm just so happy that the Jays are going into contender mode. I really hope that everything works out well.

[SportsJunky]

I wanted to quote this from the Grantland article that Jason 14h posted earlier.

the power knuckleball that Dickey has developed over the past couple of years is different from any other pitch that's been thrown in the game's history. Second, check out this comparison that Rany made:
R.A. Dickey, 2010-2012: 91 starts, 617 IP, 2.95 ERA, 468 Ks, 150 walks
Zack Greinke, 2010-2012: 95 starts, 604 IP, 3.83 ERA, 582 Ks, 154 walks

Remember that Greinke is getting paid 147 million dollars.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...-the-hot-stove

[dustyanddaflames]

What a beautiful off-season to be a Blue Jays fan - I honestly can't remember this much "actual" excitement, meaning we aren't wetting our pants over Fred Lewis, etc.

For the people who are saying we overpaid, and not meaning anyone in this forum specifically, but we just landed last year's CY YOUNG winner. LAST YEAR'S CY YOUNG WINNER. For people who are saying we acquired a 38 yr old hurler - he WON LAST YEAR'S CY YOUNG. Frick give your collective heads a shake. I listened to DJF's podcast on the way into work this morning, and I thought they brought up an excellent point - if this trade were to have taken place five years ago, the pieces going back to the Mets would have been Travis Snider and Brett Cecil.

I understand that the players aren't the same - but you get the jist behind it. They are just prospects until they hit the MLB stage. Five years ago, I would have cringed at the thought of trading Dustin McGowan, and now you couldn't give him away for 20 other clubs. D'Arnaud might end up becoming a top tier catcher in the MLB, but until we know that, it seems like a stretch to say that the Jays got screwed in this deal. I honestly hope that Syndengaard and D'Arnaud do well for the Mets, I would like to see them become relevant again in the NL East. But by the time D'Arnaud becomes an established MLB catcher, Bautista/Encarnacion are probably on the tail end of their productive years - so where does that leave you?

I love the deal from every aspect - you aren't going to land a Cy Young winner without giving up your best prospects. We are fortunate enough that we didn't have to give up anything off our roster to complete the deal. Add to the fact that the Jays were able to sign Dickey for three more years at a very competitive dollar adds value to this deal for Toronto. So even if Johnson walks at years end you have eliminated that gaping hole and added another top pick in 2014, amd you still have a strong 4/5 in your rotation, AND you are getting Hutchinson back in 2014.

Great stuff A.A., a right-handed bat to platoon with Lind and convincing Black Magic for one more year - and Alex may have completed one of the most effective off-season turnarounds I have seen.

[Frequitude]

Can someone give a refreshed overview of the Jays prospect pool now?