2011 Blue Jays/MLB Thread

[L K]

Sounds like the Marlins are going to be major players this off season.  They apparently have a good chance of signing Reyes, they've courted Pujols, and Buehrle has paid a visit as well (not to mention the Guillen connection).  I didn't realize they were getting a new ballpark next season -- looks pretty awesome.

I'd wait until they actually sign someone big before I really believe they'll be big players. A lot of times teams in the position they're in get players to take meetings/use their deep pockets and willingness to spend money to jack up the offers they get from the clubs they really want to sign with. It's still not an organization that's held in really high regard.

Also they have done this before.  Sign a bunch of players and then trade them a year later because Loria pretended that he cared about baseball for 15 minutes.  This is the same Marlins team that was essentially forced to sign a pitcher to a new contract by MLB/Selig because they were avoiding paying anyone like the plague.  Next to the joke of the Dodger's former ownership, Loria is quite possibly the worst owner in baseball.  He pockets revenue sharing payments like candy.

 

[bustaheims]

Rumour has it the Jays are interested in/purusing Jonathon Broxton. Seems like a very AA type of move - a guy who's flown under the radar a little because of injuries/performance, that will likely be looking to sign a short-term deal to get his career back on track. Could a nice low-cost/high-reward type move.

 

[Arn]

Just went to the Marlins site to have a look at this new stadium (I'm a major geek when it comes to buildings, especially stadiums) and noticed they're rebranding as Miami Marlins. Is this new or did I miss something big?

 

[Kin]

Just went to the Marlins site to have a look at this new stadium (I'm a major geek when it comes to buildings, especially stadiums) and noticed they're rebranding as Miami Marlins. Is this new or did I miss something big?

It's been known for a while now. I don't know how big it is, they've always been in Miami and this doesn't really change anything. The change  is probably because of some mix of a deal they made with the city government, the reality that they're no longer the only team in Florida and a desire to market to the city more directly.

The minor league team in Miami was named the Miami Marlins for about 30 years before they got their big league team so there's some retro appeal there too.

 

[maplesyrup]

Rumour has it the Jays are interested in/purusing Jonathon Broxton. Seems like a very AA type of move - a guy who's flown under the radar a little because of injuries/performance, that will likely be looking to sign a short-term deal to get his career back on track. Could a nice low-cost/high-reward type move.

An AA move for sure and one totally worth looking at but I'm not sure how low the cost would be... I see multiple teams are looking at him.

 

[Arn]

Just went to the Marlins site to have a look at this new stadium (I'm a major geek when it comes to buildings, especially stadiums) and noticed they're rebranding as Miami Marlins. Is this new or did I miss something big?

It's been known for a while now. I don't know how big it is, they've always been in Miami and this doesn't really change anything. The change  is probably because of some mix of a deal they made with the city government, the reality that they're no longer the only team in Florida and a desire to market to the city more directly.

The minor league team in Miami was named the Miami Marlins for about 30 years before they got their big league team so there's some retro appeal there too.

Thanks for that. Just watching on their site now http://mlb.mlb.com/marlins/ the launch of the new logo and team uniforms.

 

[bustaheims]

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/13/jays-looking-to-deal-for-closer

We?ve been told that the Jays have been shocked at the dollars that agents are asking for their closers.

Does that mean making a trade for a closer is the Jays best option? Probably.

That's sort of what I expected to happen. Outside of someone like Nathan, who might be looking for a shorter-term, possibly incentive laden deal, any potential closer on the free agent market is going to be looking for some sort of security in terms of salary, because the role of closer is never a secure one.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Couple ex-Jays in the news today:

Mike Matheny becomes the new Cardinals manager, while Aaron Hill re-signs with Arizona for 2 years @ $10-11 million

 

[maplesyrup]

Interesting... Seems the Astros are likely to join the American league in 2013 to balance the two leagues out at 15 per. 

 

[L K]

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/13/jays-looking-to-deal-for-closer

We?ve been told that the Jays have been shocked at the dollars that agents are asking for their closers.

Does that mean making a trade for a closer is the Jays best option? Probably.

That's sort of what I expected to happen. Outside of someone like Nathan, who might be looking for a shorter-term, possibly incentive laden deal, any potential closer on the free agent market is going to be looking for some sort of security in terms of salary, because the role of closer is never a secure one.

Are they really shocked.  Every free agent asks for a billion dollars anymore.  That's what a non-cap league that puts premium prices on arbitrary positions offers.  When was the last time a closer signed for a reasonable contract on the UFA market who wasn't laden with baggage.  Were they expecting anything different when Philly offered 44 and 50+ million dollars at two separate closers?

I love the Jays, and how hard Anthopoulis works but he has a tough sell.  Hey, come to the AL East where we will spend 150 million dollars less than the Red Sox and Yankees, have a weaker crop of MLB ready prospects than the Rays and have holes in our rotation, bullpen, 1B, a question mark at DH, CF, LF, a terrible defensive RF (who happens to be the best hitter in baseball - although he did not have a great second half), no 2B, and a catcher who hits home-runs and that is about it.  Oh, and did I mention we play in a different country?

 

[Kin]

MLB, MLBPA close to labor deal

Hey, what a shocker. The only sport that even tries to resemble the free market is the one with the most labor peace and the one with the happiest participants on all sides. It's almost as if there's something to the notion of letting the actual market dictate the economy.

 

[Deebo]

Blue Jays claim RHP Cole Kimball from Nationals - Shi Davidi

He only has 12 appearances in the Majors.

 

[bustaheims]

Blue Jays claim RHP Cole Kimball from Nationals - Shi Davidi

He only has 12 appearances in the Majors.

He's only 26, so, that's not a surprise. From the looks of his numbers (both MLB and minor leagues), he's got very good stuff, but he also has some significant control issues. As a no risk type move, I like it, though, I wouldn't expect much from him.

 

[Deebo]

Blue Jays claim RHP Cole Kimball from Nationals - Shi Davidi

He only has 12 appearances in the Majors.

He's only 26, so, that's not a surprise. From the looks of his numbers (both MLB and minor leagues), he's got very good stuff, but he also has some significant control issues. As a no risk type move, I like it, though, I wouldn't expect much from him.

It looks like he was injured last season, he pitched under 30 innings, majors and minors combined.

 

[maplesyrup]

Can't say I know a thing about the guy but having looked at his stats, it's hard not to notice that 0.00 ERA in AAA last year (in the very limited time he had there.)

 

[maplesyrup]

... also hearing he's probably going to be on the shelf until mid-season. Probably just a case of one organization exercising more patience than another.

 

[Kin]

His 2010 is pretty impressive. 101 K's in 78 innings and only 4 HR's allowed. That said, it was as a 24-25 year old in high A and AA.

Like Busta says, a no-risk option for the pen.

 

[maplesyrup]

One more sleep!
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19996493&topic_id=15480096&c_id=tor&tcid=vpp_copy_19996493&v=3
God, I've hated the current ones so.

 

[maplesyrup]

Looks like the Astros move is a done deal;

MLB MLB
BREAKING: MLB approves sale of Astros to group led by Jim Crane; Houston will move to American League West as soon as 2013.
4 minutes ago

 

[Deebo]

2 wild cards added for 2013.