Andy McCullough @McCulloughSL How bad did Jays want R.A.? Anthopolous arrived in Nashville late last week, so he could meet with Dickey as soon as deal was agreed upon.
And the fact that the Jays got him to take less money then he was asking for from the Mets and a team option for a 3rd year is insane.
I abandoned this team in August last year because it had become a joke, especially with a crap manager that was just stealing money.
Rogers has now spent the money and AA has pulled the strings. Expect near sellouts and HUGE tv ratings.
The TV ratings will be huge, the attendance will still take time.
I think one thing I really get behind about this organization is that I truly believe they have a man in charge who can lead the Jays to a World Series and I believe he's doing everything in his power to do so. And ownership has put up a ton of money for this team. AA is running this team in a way that creates die-hard Jays fans for years and years to come. The Jays need to win, but I think as fans we deserve to give them support now, no matter what, win or lose (As long as the work ethic is there). It's insane that this happening, nobody saw this coming.
AA coming up after the commercial break on Primetime Sports. I love when he speaks candidly after a trade. You usually can't get a single thing out of him during speculation or rumors but he's incredibly insightful after a move.
Will run a little play by play of the AA interview. AA can speak 3 languages fluently, opens up speaking a little Italian.
- He could never see this coming because he had no idea they'd be able to spend this much money. All their planning was based on the money they thought they had.
- They had some free agents they were going to after aggressive. Just had a complete different gameplan ready for this offseason before $$$
- Talks about the bulk of the team being under control the next few years and selling Dickey on not having to worry about it being a 1 and done.
- Dickey reminds him of Bautista. So many people didn't want to buy in, until he finally made it impossible for them to.
- AA approached Sandy Alomar at the Winter Meetings. AA talked to Alomar on the bus back from a party in the Winter Meetings and talked on the way back on a 12 seater. Alomar had no desire to move him, AA tried to get one big push at the end of the meetings to get something done.
- Deal was done Thursday
- D'Arnaud was the key to the Mets from beginning. AA tried to do a lot of different versions of the trade. D'Arnaud was on the table for about 10 days and felt that both teams were stuck in their position. AA finally said what's it going to take to get this deal done and the Mets came back with the 2nd piece.
-AA talking about how the prospects may not time with everyone else due to age. Bautista could be gone, Eddie could be gone Reyes could be gone. The Jays could be in the same spot they've been in the last 20 years, of just decent players but not a full team. AA said that it's so rare you have these players under control
- AA says just minor moves to come, improving the bullpen. John Buck going back was huge for the Jays
- AA flew down to Nashville. So did Gibby and the Jays had a pro scouting director who knew Dickey, for the comfort level. Jays spent quite a bit of time in Nashville and just taking about all kinds of things with Dickey. AA didn't think they needed to sell the team.
- AA talks about how Dickey averaged 7 inning a star this season and talks about how the effect this has on the bullpen
- There's a lot of great top of the rotation guys. A lot of those guys have no trade clauses. They need 20 million plus a season. Jays can't do that right now. Talks about free agents there has to be a desire to play in their ballpark and how even a team with the background of the Rangers, couldn't even get Greinke.
- Halladay and Sabathia both had no trade clauses, decided where they go. The other #1 guys have all been rentals and then sigined huge deals after with no trade clauses. Talks about how rarely these top of the rotation guys come up
- Jays can't be in the middle. Can't be just a good team. They decided they were much closer to being a great team then a team that needed to rebuild.
- AA talks about how we get so excited about prospects and he's guilty of that but we sometimes forget it's all about winning. And talks about how you hope all prospects can come up at the same time, nobody gets sent down but you need almost perfect timing for that.
Last edited by TitovFTW; 12-17-2012 at 04:39 PM.
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I wonder how much the Travis Snider's of the world and the Kyle Drabek (not withstanding the injury, more about his struggles) have molded the way AA thinks. I don't believe the "all prospects are equal and are just a huge wildcard" some are different but it's so tough to expect them all to adapt to the Majors at the same time.
It's a great deal for both teams now with the value of the Dickey contract.
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?
My hope is we will look back at this trade much like both teams fanbases did after the Iginla trade to come to Calgary. Jarome Iginla has been a top 10 player in the NHL for the last decade, a first ballot HOF'er and the Stars would not even think twice about making that trade a 100 times out of a 100
Rosenthal said in his article, and DJF podcast mentioned it, that the A's asking price for Gio Gonzalez last season was Marsnick, Nicolino and Syndergaard. Jays waited a season and got way more value, are in a way better situation and got a better pitcher.
And that's it for me because Greg Zaun is coming on and nobody should ever listen to him speak.
I was not a fan of Zaun and still find him tiresome at times but it was nice to hear someone call out guys last year in the TO media rather than just make excuses and talk about how it was bad luck holding the team back.
Plus watching him force his world series ring into any shot of him on TV has become one of my favorite things to watch for.
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Originally Posted by TitovFTW
Rosenthal said in his article, and DJF podcast mentioned it, that the A's asking price for Gio Gonzalez last season was Marsnick, Nicolino and Syndergaard. Jays waited a season and got way more value, are in a way better situation and got a better pitcher.
I know you love Dickey but better pitcher? I am not so sure.
I was not a fan of Zaun and still find him tiresome at times but it was nice to hear someone call out guys last year in the TO media rather than just make excuses and talk about how it was bad luck holding the team back.
Plus watching him force his world series ring into any shot of him on TV has become one of my favorite things to watch for.
I know you love Dickey but better pitcher? I am not so sure.
R.A Dickey is a better pitcher then Gio Gonzalez, but Gio Gonzalez pitches for the best rotation in baseball (Jays are now top 5) and LOL at Greg Zaun comment. Also his twitter profile he calls himself a millionaire playboy and he's a Riders fan. Such a weird mix of idiocy
As for the deal, like the Marlins deal it seems like something AA needed to do. Sure he may have given up a lot of potential but the Jays need to "s or get off the pot" at sometime and he has done a good job of giving them a shot of winning. Not sure they deserve to be co-favorites at this time but they certainly now are a contender something that they weren't guaranteed of being waiting for the prospects to turn out.
As for rebuilding the farm system, plenty of teams have managed to remain competitive without top level picks or top level prospects. Not to always make it about the Cards but they are my team so I am familiar with them, but until the last two years they have had a poorly ranked farm team and yet have been a top 3 team for the past 8 years.
Having guys like Johnson, Reyes, Bautista makes it easier to get by with B level prospects rather than needing A+ guys coming in.
Youth is exciting as hell to follow and think about what may be but winning and play-offs can quickly replace that excitement. Now it is time for the Jays to make sure that they get those two things as a good team on paper can quickly go wrong as the Marlins and Phillies found out recently.
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In comparison to Santana, Doc, Adrien Gonzalez and Gio Gonzalez
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Dickey is under contract with the Jays for less time than those other players were under contract with their new teams, and that’s true. But remember that the bulk of the value from a long-term contract to a star comes toward the front. And though Dickey is 38, which everybody points out, I don’t think it’s fair to say that other 38-year-olds represent an appropriate peer group. Other knuckleballers don’t represent an appropriate peer group, either, since Dickey throws harder than all of them have, but this peer group is closer than the 38-year-olds peer group, and this peer group has aged tremendously well. Despite Dickey’s age, there are reasons to believe he could remain effective for quite some time yet.
So the Blue Jays are paying steeply, sure. But they’re paying for not one year of R.A. Dickey, but three years of him, and they aren’t giving up a true can’t-miss prospect. They get a lot better now, which is the whole point, and we haven’t even touched on the surplus value from Dickey’s phenomenally low 2013 salary. Based on recent history, the Jays don’t seem to be overpaying, and based on the current setting of things, this should be a hell of a season for baseball in Toronto.
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Last season Dickey seemed to develop the ability to strike batters out, and that’s a tough thing to fake.
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The main pieces going from the Blue Jays to the Mets for Dickey are d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. A year ago, BA ranked d’Arnaud the #17 prospect overall, and then he hit well in Las Vegas, but you also hit well in Las Vegas, you hit well there without realizing you had even played, and d’Arnaud missed a big chunk of the season due to knee surgery. Knee surgery, for a catcher. In the upper levels he’s struck out three times as often as he’s walked. The point being that d’Arnaud is a good prospect with question marks. Syndergaard is very young and so far very successful, but he also hasn’t pitched above single-A. He’s a guy who currently scouts better than his odds, if that makes sense.
