They do have an unusual footprint though in being the media center of Canada, and the only city in Canada with MLB and NBA teams.
Yeah I doubt they count Mexico when they are making that comparison. I took a bus tour of Toronto last year and they said multiple times on it that the GTA was now the third largest metropolitan area in NA (probably excluding Mexico). It's their new claim to fame.
That said, 4th, 6th whatever they still have a fan base of essentially 35M fans and run it like a small market team.
It's interesting to me but I really do think the problem with the Blue Jays ultimately is ownership and I think TheAplineOracle is right, mostly.
Not sure how that can be fixed, either. You can't operate a baseball team and operate it on the cheap without Billy Bean. Not in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox. And despite their poor performance this year it seems apparent that:
1. Loss of AA
2. Loss of David Price
Has equaled a loss of momentum that didn't need to happen and clearly has impacted the morale of the team. People can say these are pros or it shouldn't make an impact but that is the magic of sport, human interaction, momentum, chemistry, team morale- these are real things even though their intangible and difficult to understand and explain. Since Rogers is as close to an evil empire as possible it's tough to see them actually change how they operate the team.
Oh well, baseball was interesting for 3 months last year at least.
They definitely lost their mojo when Price left town. They had a swagger late last season, now they look a little lost. He couldn't live up to a potential long term monster contract on the field, but his presence probably would have been worth it for a few years. But I guess Rogers didn't want to take that risk. Too bad for us fans.
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Meh I think the swagger thing is an excuse. If anything the bats came in with too much swagger and it changed their approach at the plate. Now they are struggling and can't get back into it mentally.
They came in looking to hammer home runs at every at bat and completely lost the patience and process that made them so dangerous last year. They would work deep into pitch counts, draw walks, and then feast on fastballs when up in the count. This year they are swinging at early pitches and trying to hammer everything early.
Personally I don't think that the Price negotiation has anything to do with their struggles. That Price contract is going to be an albatross, he had a terrible playoffs (are we all forgetting that he choked when it mattered the most), and they were smart to not give him that money for that length. Any swagger that Price brought to this team was lost when he got hit hard in the playoffs.
If anything is hitting the morale of the team it is how they are handling the Bautista, Encarnacion, and Donaldson contracts. If they didn't want to pay for Bautista or Encarnacion they should have moved them in the offseason instead of having that contract status hanging over the team. Even then though those guys have not been the issue really, and guys like Tulo & Martin who have longterm contracts are the problem.
^It's also worth remembering that after the Price trade, the Jays had a 40 or so game run of baseball that was among the most unsustainable runs we've ever seen. They were playing like .860 ball with dominant offense and both good starting and relief pitching. The Cubs started like that this year but have settled in and have been closer to a .600 team the last couple weeks. You can't expect a ride like that forever. But taking that stretch away, they've basically been a .500 or so team for a while now (like going back into 2014). Maybe a managerial change is what they really need to push them to being a consistent .600 team, because the talent is there. Something just appears to be missing.
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Not sure how that can be fixed, either. You can't operate a baseball team and operate it on the cheap without Billy Bean. Not in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox. And despite their poor performance this year it seems apparent that:
1. Loss of AA
2. Loss of David Price
The team that just swept you seems to be doing ok. Playoffs in 4 of last 8 years. Yankees 5 of last 8 (1 World Series). Boston 3 of last 8 (1 World Series)
The team that just swept you seems to be doing ok. Playoffs in 4 of last 8 years. Yankees 5 of last 8 (1 World Series). Boston 3 of last 8 (1 World Series)
Which actually raises a good point.
Should the Jays try to spend with the Red Sox and Yankees - which is pretty hard considering the Jays don't have the prestige or deep pocket books of either of those teams.
Or do you go the penny pinching route of the Rays, where drafting and asset management is key but you are going to have cycles where you are a bad team as you re-tool your team after the sell off.
Both the Jays and O's have tried to play the middle ground and it hasn't really worked for them. They spend in that 10-12 range in terms of league payroll, and then they are good enough to not be a bottom dweller but also not good enough to win the division on a consistent basis.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 05-19-2016 at 10:17 AM.
For all the chest puffing and boasting about building the scouting base and developing high ceiling players that the Jays were doing. What did they get? Many traded for veteran guys like Dickey, than Reyes, to Tulowitzki, the Josh Johnson flame out and Mark Buerhle.
On the current team today they have Stroman, Sanchez, and Osuna as promising young players. But in terms of everyday guys, you might have a good center fielder in Pilar because of his defence, and a plus defender in Goins, but what else?
It does seem to be that in between want to develop players but still spend a bit more than others to have some proven vets to compete model that just doesn't work.
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For all the chest puffing and boasting about building the scouting base and developing high ceiling players that the Jays were doing. What did they get? Many traded for veteran guys like Dickey, than Reyes, to Tulowitzki, the Josh Johnson flame out and Mark Buerhle.
On the current team today they have Stroman, Sanchez, and Osuna as promising young players. But in terms of everyday guys, you might have a good center fielder in Pilar because of his defence, and a plus defender in Goins, but what else?
It does seem to be that in between want to develop players but still spend a bit more than others to have some proven vets to compete model that just doesn't work.
True.
Wallace and Marsenick and Gose are in the show. Mostly bench guys.
D'Arnaud is probably the best out of them, but cannot stay on the field.
Yeah, I'm finding it harder and harder to actually watch the games. I might throw the radio on the background now, but actually watching is just more depressing than anything.
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Last year when they were losing, they still have a great run differential.
The problem this year is that we gave away 8-10 games we should have won.
Now, we actually play some poor overall ball and have a losing streak. Instead of having those extra 8 wins and just working through this, we are under .500 and almost burried.
As for the bats, it really is amazing. Everyone except Saunders and I guess Smoak is hitting like garbage.
What's more amazing:
1. Your starting catcher Martin have 1 extra base hit on the season
2. The bullpen being 1-12
It really feels like punishment for last years last 3 months of joy
On the plus, it will make moving Bautista and EE easier for prospects (Prob even Dickey as people always need pitching) and we can start a 5 year rebuild as we can not develop players to save our lives!
